Anyone remember those old ESB ads?

Oswald Osbourne

They were on in the late 1980's and featured classic tunes such as 'Going Back' by Dusty Spriengfield and 'Will You love me Tommorow' by the Shirelles. The Shirelles ad had a mouse, a cat and a bulldog coming into the living room to sit by the fire and the Dusty Springfield had a guy driving through the night out to the countryside to visit his parents (I think?)

They popped into my head just now so thought I'd mention them to see if anyone else liked or remembered them.

DMC

The old boy collected the son from the train station, drove him home, while the mother was cooking and turning on leccy ovens and immersion heaters.

Good ad, great tune, remember it well.

Silvera

Yep, I remember the one with the guy going home.

His father collected him at the train station in an Opel Omega estate car and he drove through his home village and was looking at the local niteclub as he went by.
His mother was cooking and she ran out to greet him when the car pulled up outside the house. Great music also.

Phew ! Am I watching too much tv

BTW, the guy in that ad is now a reporter/presenter on TV3's breakfast show (TV AM?).

Silvera.

BrianD3

Yep I clearly remember the ad with the silver Opel Omega estate.

But I thought the ad with the bulldog/cat/mouse was for briquettes or firelighters, not ESB? Could well be wrong though

BrianD3

DMC

That was a coal ad, originally.

DMC

Originally posted by Silvera

BTW, the guy in that ad is now a reporter/presenter on TV3's breakfast show (TV AM?).

You are right! Never copped that! Alan Hughes indeed.

And its Ireland AM... but you have given me an idea for another retro thread....

byte

Is that the ad that had the guy standing in a phonebox in the pouring rain?

DMC

No, the Opel Omega Estate does pass a phone-box during the ad, though.

aidan_dunne

Remember that ESB ad well. They used to always start showing that in September, just after we'd all started back at school, and it used to always remind me that Christmas wasn't all that long away, for some reason. Never knew it was Alan Hughes that was the guy in the ad, though.

But what about the ESB ad with the fella getting up in the middle of the night, trotting downstairs to make the bottle for the baby, and then coming back up and sitting on the side of the bed feeding the baby. Anyone remember that one? As far as I can remember, the father in the ad was the guard in Glenroe, wasn't he?

Capt'n Midnight

Originally posted by Oswald Osbourne
The Shirelles ad had a mouse, a cat and a bulldog coming into the living room to sit by the fire

Naw that wasn't for the ESB - twas a UK add - gas perhaps ??

But the creature comfort adds for British gas were , well Gas..
I like the spitting image version too - where they were freezing cos they'd been cut off.

And the spitting image versiuon of "Temporary postman Prat" -- the bit where he gives the postmistress the fingers...

Tha Gopher

The one with the kid crying was out when I was younger. The oul pair say it reminds them of me at that age,primarily because i was
a-a noisy little fecker,as my dad says
b-the kid is wearing a sleeping suit thingy the same as I had

I actually remember this ad so maybe they showed it again in recent years but it was originally from the mid 80s.

byte

Originally posted by DMC
No, the Opel Omega Estate does pass a phone-box during the ad, though.

Ah maybe that was it!

nlgbbbblth

best ESB ads were the Play Safe ones - 7 mins approx in length
show twice - in the summer of 1979 and 1980
saw them both times when holidaying in West Cork both years

guy throws frisbee into power station and climbs up pylon etc

also Water Safety ones - like the trilogy with the child drowning in pond/child drowning in oil drum/where's grandad - radio blaring - lake being fenced off

also family going to beach - one drowns - lifeguard shakes head - voiceover "some trips often end in tragedy"

or Health Education Bureau ones - like the dangers of alcohol one
or that video we used see in school - Dying For A Drink - [middle class housewife/delinquent girl/newly married husband]

release them on DaViD

Dustaz

Originally posted by Oswald Osbourne
The Shirelles ad had a mouse, a cat and a bulldog coming into the living room to sit by the fire

As dmt says, that was indeed for Coal. Directed by the great Tony Kaye as well (American History X, Most good UK commercials in the late 80s/early 90s)

lilo moo

anyone remember the esb ads with tha teddy bears...? and the really catchy jingle: '50 50 cash back, 50 50 cash back, la la la la!' well something to that effect anyway...

i liked those ads...

evie

"50 50 Cash back, 50 50 Cash back, its half price gas"
I believe that's the way the choon went!

Exit

The best ad in terms of nostalgia was the Bord na Mona ad. I'm humming the tune right now. Just showed a warm fire in a sitting room, and people's stocking feet in front of it I think?

shabbyroad

That'll be the 'Marino Waltz' by wotzizname from the Dubliners.
Always reminds me of a girlfriend I had at the time (she used to annoy her dog by singing the tune to the poor creature)

dazberry

Anybody remember the English ad for short term foster parents, circa 1976 I guess...

Basically you see a woman, her friend and her kid in a dingy 70s cafe and they're talking about the kid - "ah he's a bit of a handful but...". Then you see the woman walking over a railway type 70s concrete bridge and falling down the steps, her shopping going everywhere and the kid just standing there half way down balling his little eyes out saying "I want my mammy", muffled by a train going by. Then you get the "wanted now... short term foster parents".

Since a) I was about the same age as the kid, and b) the first primary school I went to was beside the Killbarrack railway station which had an almost identical bridge it used to frighten the sh1t out of me

D.

bishop brennan

Does anyone remember the ad with Mike Murphy doing the voiceover foy bike safety?
It starts off outside a shop where this boy throws his bike down on the path and he heads into the shop.A breadvan pulls up the driver takes out a tray of bread and falls over the bike.The next part of the ad shows a young lad slapping another fella on the ear , He shouts "AFTER HIM" they cycle off after the boy nearly crashing into a car where the driver gives him a right earfull!
Ahh those were the days when RTE made the best comedy, they havent matched it since!

singingstranger

aidan_dunne wrote:

But what about the ESB ad with the fella getting up in the middle of the night, trotting downstairs to make the bottle for the baby, and then coming back up and sitting on the side of the bed feeding the baby. Anyone remember that one? As far as I can remember, the father in the ad was the guard in Glenroe, wasn't he?

I know it's utterly ridiculous to bump this thread a whole 40 months later, but does anyone happen to have a video of this ad? YouTube doesn't seem to be offering much but I thought one of you may have seen it somewhere else online or had a copy yourselves that you could point me to?

TheDriver

I remember that ad though I so wanted the Opel Omega estate, loved the wheel covers.........
Why did ESB need to advertise when they had the monoploy as opposed to nowadays.................

stovelid

Oswald Osbourne wrote:

The Shirelles ad had a mouse, a cat and a bulldog coming into the living room to sit by the fire

Classic ad.

Sure I saw a TV program quite recently where they went through the making of it.

Was there an ad about 'night saver' (or something like that ) to the tune of Desmond Dekker's Israelites' for the ESB too?

ClarenceOveur

stovelid wrote:

Classic ad.

Sure I saw a TV program quite recently where they went through the making of it.

Was there an ad about 'night saver' (or something like that ) to the tune of Desmond Dekker's Israelites' for the ESB too?

IIRC was that the Northern Ireland leccy board?

singingstranger

ClarenceOveur wrote:

IIRC was that the Northern Ireland leccy board?

No, I think it was for the ESB aswell because the one with the guy getting up to feed the baby was also to advertise the Night Saver option too...

dhenness

Someone got it from ESB (fair dues to them releasing it)

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=mSlfAOxTTIA

Lizzykins

It was ages later I found out it was Alan Hughes on that ESB ad. The reason I liked it was because the mammy in it reminded me of my mother in law and Alan Hughes reminded me of my brother in law so it was just like watching the family on TV really! I wonder are they available on You Tube or anywhere as I think a lot of us would like to see them again.

Ps. Thanks Dheness -Wow I'm all emotional now!!!

Sam Kade

DMC wrote: »

You are right! Never copped that! Alan Hughes indeed.

And its Ireland AM... but you have given me an idea for another retro thread....

I wonder did he have that silly accent that he has now back then.

Firetrap

aidan_dunne wrote: »

But what about the ESB ad with the fella getting up in the middle of the night, trotting downstairs to make the bottle for the baby, and then coming back up and sitting on the side of the bed feeding the baby. Anyone remember that one? As far as I can remember, the father in the ad was the guard in Glenroe, wasn't he?

Aye, he was Sergeant Roche in Glenroe. That ad ran for years. "Only youoooooooo......."

carchaeologist

dhenness wrote: »

Someone got it from ESB (fair dues to them releasing it)

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=mSlfAOxTTIA

Was that 20 years ago....man...even the omega estate is on pre 87 reg plates!

Lizzykins

I noticed that! I can't believe it was over 20 years ago!

Max_Damage

I actually remember that ad, and I was only 2 when it came out!

carchaeologist

Max_Damage wrote: »

I actually remember that ad, and I was only 2 when it came out!

It must have ran for years,it wasnt that long ago since i last saw it....was it....:p

It does look very out of date now though...!!

the opel omega estate was a rare enough car even when new!!

road_high

here it is;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSlfAOxTTIA