Shake 'n' Vac

Infobox TV advert
name=Shake 'n' vac


caption=Jenny Logan holding the Shake 'n' vac.
client=
product=Shake 'n' vac
agency=S. C. Johnson & Son
music=1950's rock and roll style
released=1980
runtime=30 seconds
language=English
starring=Jenny Logan
country=

Shake 'n' Vac is a powdered carpet freshener. The powder is shaken onto the carpet before hoovering. It is currently marketed and sold in the United Kingdom by S. C. Johnson & Son. [cite web
url=http://www.scjohnson.co.uk/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=6003
title=S.C Johnson, Shake 'N' vac
accessdate= 2008-03-23
publisher=SC johnson] The product becoming well known due to its famous TV commercial during the 1980's, with the advert being voted as one of the most popular TV adverts in Britain. [cite web
url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/27/njingles127.xml
title=Daily Telegraph, Shake n'Vac named most popular TV jingle
date= 2006-06-26
accessdate=2008-03-23
author=Matthew Moore
publisher= Daily Telegraph]

The product, still available as of today, [cite web
url=http://www.choiceful.com/choiceful-id-133-Glade-Citrus-Bloom-Shake-N-Vac-400g.html
title=Choiceful.com Glade Citrus Bloom Shake 'N Vac
accessdate= 2008-03-23
Quote= "this is to show Shake 'n' vac is still sold to the current day] is primarily remembered for its iconic "Dancing Woman" TV advert shown until 1989. There has been some controversy over when the advert was first aired. "The 100 Greatest TV Adverts" programme stated that the ad was first broadcast in 1979, however it was the actual product that went on sale in 1979, with the advert not being aired until 1980 due to the 1979 ITV Strike. [cite web
url=http://centuryads.blogspot.com/2007/10/1980-launch-of-shake-n-vac-tv-ad.html
title=centuryads, launch of the shake' n ' vac advert
accessdate=2008-03-23
date= 2007-10-4
author=
publisher= centuryads.blogspot.com
pages= one]

History of the product and advert

First going on air in the early 1980s, the advert featured the English actor Jenny Logan, [cite web
url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1036672/
title=The internet movie database, Jenny Logan's acting career
accessdate= 2008-03-23
publisher= Internet movie database ] dancing around a typical British living room in high heels, shaking the powder onto a carpet and vacuuming it up, while singing a musical jingle. The main lyric is "do the Shake 'n' Vac, and put the freshness back".

Like most adverts, Jenny Logan's 'singing' voice was dubbed, with Miriam Stockley singing the lyrics.

The jingle was in a 1950s rock and roll retro style. This style was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s in the UK. In 2000, the advert polled 18th place in the Channel 4 "The 100 Greatest TV Adverts" programme. [cite web
url=http://www.dvdfever.co.uk/100tvads.shtml
title=The 100 Greatest TV adverts
accessdate= 2008-03-23
publisher= DVDfever]

Long after the commercial ended, Jenny Logan also appeared on "This Morning" in 2004 as a guest to talk about the ad. [cite web
url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0722431/
title=The internet movie database, "This morning" 23rd June 2004
accessdate= 2008-03-23
publisher= Internet movie database]

Controversy

The controversy was due to the ITV industrial action of 1979. Whilst the Shake 'n' Vac product was on sale in shops in 1979, the TV advertising was delayed to 1980. [cite web
url=http://www.warc.com/Search/Browse/Marketing_Intelligence/Advertisers/I_-_J/Johnson_Wax/
title=Marketing Intelligence Advertisers, Johnson wax
accessdate= 2008-03-23
publisher= Marketing Intelligence Advertisers] This caused some confusion amongst pop culture researchers, who assumed that the arrival of the product on shop shelves and the TV advertisement both happened in the same year.

The early claim that the advert was originally broadcast in 1979 was disputed. Whilst some researchers pointed to 1980, others believed that the ad first appeared somewhat later. According to the book "Box of Delights" (ISBN 0333518128), it first appeared in 1985, and this was backed up by the earliest print reference to Shake 'n' Vac being a 1982 newspaper advert. However, it was argued that Ms Logan's clothing and hairstyle and the decor of the room featured in the ad pointed towards the ad being filmed in 1979/1980.

References