Mama Mia that's a ballsy rip-off ...

Those who don't know their history are condemned to repeat it. But repeat it this well? This is a carbon-copy of the idea - with herring instead of meatballs. Two  films are waiting for you to click "read more.."

In a land far away called Adland, there was once a brand called Alka-seltzer, who dared to hire the best agency in the world at the height of the creative revolution. Their ads and approaches were so new, fresh and different. Their myth-building brand power so great, that they ended up in history books like "The 100 Best TV Commercials . . . and Why They Worked." written by famous historians Kanner & Conrad. Though Kanner voiced concern about it's brand building power - "People thought it was for spaghetti sauce and Alka-Seltzer sales slumped." In any case, the 1960s spicy meatball advert is still hailed as one of the best ads ever, though my favourite Alka Seltzer ad is the prison one. The prisoners rhythmically slam their metal cups to the tables after their shoddy prison meal, chanting "Alka Seltzer.. Alka Seltzer.. Alka Seltzer.." Is that branding enough for you? Let's watch this Bernbach beauty, shall we? Click the play button on the film below, please.

Mama Mia That's a Spicy Meatball.

Mama Mia, that's a funny ad. Gotta love the way mama Italia gets the same exact pose right for every shot, hands clasped together just right. Heck, it's a darn good ad for its product, still today. To prove we bring in our Swedish contender. Ah, herring, lovely herring. It just isn't summer without the herring, the golden beer and the ultra-chilled snaps, in that order and large quantities, please. The accordion is optional. Clicka da play button again.. doop de doop.

Sillen från Tjörn

the "Sillen" ad fetched with the help of Kenneth Pilo over at the Swedish ad-site 99reklam.

Such copious amounts of herring will give a worse tummy ache than a few Italian spicy meatballs, trust me. "sillen från tjörn e go'...sillen från tjörn.."  I have to admit that the tune is annoyingly catchy and hilariously performed. It sticks to the brain so badly, that Niclas Strandh at 99reklam already suggested that some herring-factory should start selling "Sillen från tjörn" branded herring. Perhaps like its predecessor, it will sell more herring than Inside Brus, a brand so unknown that I'm pretty sure it's nearest Swedish brand competitor, Samarin, is getting the brand credit for this one in the punters minds. Is this a case of demo-love where the demo happened to be a classic ads reel? Who knows, maybe they never even heard of the Doyle Dane Bernbach ad, such things can happen you know. *cough* hack! *cough*. I have no idea if this homage was intentional or not, us mere mortals do not know how the idea God works. Have I ever wanted to scream hack at the top of my lungs it's right now though, so cover your ears.