Colgate-Palmolive will revive after a six-year hiatus one of the most successful ad campaigns to run on Australian commercial television.
Twenty-two years after the TV actor Paula Duncan first hit the screen as the housewife frantically cleaning every surface with her Ajax Spray n' Wipe, she will return with the same catchy jingle.
Sydney advertising agency George Patterson Y&R re-shot the ad last Friday. The new version features Duncan in a cleaning frenzy to prepare for her daughter's wedding, which suffers a last-minute venue change. The ad will air on Sunday, March 21.
Colgate-Palmolive refused to answer questions about the campaign.
AC Nielsen said there had been no marketing activity for the brand in at least 24 months and it had been six years since Duncan had appeared in any of the brand's ads.
Colgate-Palmolive contemplated scrapping the campaign in favour of a fresh approach and also considered a new jingle, but consumers wanted Duncan back, the George Patterson Y&R writer Tim Arrowsmith said.
There had been nine versions of the ad shot since its launch, Mr Arrowsmith said.
"This ad is very much part of the TV landscape, and research tells us that Paula is still very much top of mind," Mr Arrowsmith said.
Sticking with nostalgic campaigns has proved hugely successful for Kraft, with its Happy Little Vegemites first airing on radio in 1954.
Kraft Foods Australia's head of corporate affairs, Simon Talbot said: "Australians have grown up with the jingle and have nostalgic memories associated with the tune, hence we will ensure it is not forgotten in years to come.''
Nostalgia has also worked for Reckitt Benckiser, with brand recognition falling when Mortein removed Louie the Fly from its marketing for a short period about a decade ago. The animated fly has fronted the campaign since 1957.
But reviving old campaigns can be risky, Belgiovane Williams Mackay's Rob Belgiovane said.
"The problem with nostalgic campaigns is they can make the brand appear old-fashioned. They can sometimes be a disaster," Mr Belgiovane said.
"It can be hard for marketers to realise, but sometimes they have to take a risk and change."
Mr Arrowsmith said a fresh approach was considered for Spray n' Wipe.
"We played around with different music, but when you've got a great formula, you should stick with it,'' he said. ''There are very few ads that have the same legacy as the Spray n' Wipe campaign."
Duncan said her agent begged for her to be auditioned for the ad.
"I got in there and gave them 100 different facial expressions and got the part,'' she said. ''I still get stopped at the supermarket and asked to sign bottles of Spray n' Wipe."
