St George (advert)
| Agency | HHCL + partners |
|---|---|
| Client | Britvic |
| Language | English |
| Running time | 90 seconds |
| Product |
|
| Release date(s) | 1 October 1996 (television) |
| Directed by | Colin Gregg |
| Music by | Felix ("Don't You Want Me") |
| Starring |
|
| Production company |
Eclipse |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Budget | £400,000(campaign) |
St George is a multi-award-winning television commercial for the British soft drink, Blackcurrant Tango. The commercial was created by Chas Bayfield and Jim Bolton at the UK advertising agency, HHCL + Partners and was directed by Colin Gregg at the production company, Eclipse, for the client David Atter at Britvic.
The advertisement was Tango's biggest advertisement to date, and with most of its budget being spent on production as opposed to airtime, the advert only appeared on national television ten times, mostly in advert breaks during the Channel 4 series TFI Friday. This unusual scheduling idea was deemed groundbreaking. The advert won several major advertising awards in 1997, notably a Cannes Gold Lion and a Silver Pencil from D&AD in London. It has been voted one of the 100 best commercials of all time and was popular for its latent jingoism and the fact that it appears to have been filmed in one continuous shot.
The advert also saw the re-release of "Don't You Want Me" by Felix, which features in the advert, as a CD and cassette release, which also featured the Tango Blackcurrant logo. It reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart.
St George opens with Tango "spokesman", Ray Gardner, in his office in the headquarters of Tango. He appears to be doing a corporate video. He has a letter in his hand from a French exchange student, Sebastien Loyes, who is critical of new blackcurrant flavoured Tango. Ray addresses Sebastien's criticism in what begins as a mutual retort before slowly developing into a full-on rant. Ray walks forward, bumping into the camera before continuing his rant through the office. He is joined by some colleagues who follow him out into the car park where, now in full flow, he begins stripping off. Ray is joined by more staff who help him off with the rest of his clothes, revealing some bright purple boxing shorts under his trousers. Ray and his entourage arrive seamlessly on the White Cliffs of Dover where a flag waving army of supporters have gathered to cheer on their leader. The commercial is now fully widescreen and the action is accompanied by rousing anthemic dance music - "Don't You Want Me" by Felix. As they help him into some purple boxing gloves and place a purple cloak around his shoulders, Ray continues his rant against Sebastien. On the edge of the cliffs is a boxing ring which Ray climbs into, before challenging Sebastian, France, Europe and the world to a fight. In the sky behind him, three Harrier Jump Jets appear and tilt menacingly.
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Wikipedia