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J R Hartley Reimagined
Posted by Eliza Williams, 7 February 2011, 16:48 Permalink Comments (22)
Dabbling in nostalgia can be a risky advertising strategy, as this new spot for Yell from Rapier proves...
The ad aims to update the Yellow Pages J R Hartley ad, which first aired in 1983, for the modern era. For those of a certain age, this classic ad (shown below) will be fondly remembered: it starred an elderly gentleman (actor Norman Lumsden) seeking out a book on fly fishing from a number of second-hand bookshops. After he returns home empty-handed, his daughter suggests searching via the Yellow Pages. He finds the book, and the final scene then reveals that it is in fact written by him. The spot struck a chord with popular culture and was spoofed in a number of sketches in the 80s by comedians including Harry Enfield and Fry & Laurie.
When it came to advertising Yell.com, Rapier has decided to reinvent the J R Hartley spot, this time with a retired DJ searching for an old trance track he'd made. The narrative follows the same line as the earlier ad, with the ageing raver searching second-hand record stores before returning home to then be guided to a Yell app by his daughter, where he finds a store that stocks it.
The strategy here seems simple: remind the audience how much they loved the earlier ad, and in turn how helpful Yell.com – or Yell's app – still is. And on the plus side, the ad is very nicely shot (by Chris Palmer) with good performances from the characters, and the staff in the real-life record stores, who play themselves. Yet, despite these merits, the new ad falls flat: largely because it studiously ignores the modern world it is supposed to be reflecting. Its Hartley figure – who is awkwardly named Day V Lately – looks to be in his 40s. If he wanted to find the record, surely he'd know to just Google it? By pretending that Google and other search engines, never mind eBay, don't exist, and that a middle-aged man would need his teenage daughter to direct him online just feels uncomfortable and hammy.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this kind of self-referential advertising also relies on its audience being in on the joke. Will the J R Hartley reference really mean anything to those under 35, unless they work in advertising?
Credits:
Agency: Rapier
Executive creative director: Ed Morris
Production company: Gorgeous Enterprises
Director: Chris Palmer
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22 Comments
He could have got it on Piratebay.
2011-02-07 20:20:37
He's probably done to many drugs.
2011-02-07 22:38:25
i'm under 35 and i remember it vividly. Still a tortous ad.
Tell Sid.
P.S i dont work in advertising
2011-02-08 09:12:47
A nice idea to hark back to the original and well loved YP campaign, but ultimately it fails as the world has moved on and this is now an awkward ad that sits out of place in today's society.
Anyway, who uses Yellow Pages for anything else other than a plumber...
2011-02-08 09:52:58
Yellow Pages will always be behind the times, which is why they dump massive piles of unwanted paper on people's doorsteps every year.
2011-02-08 10:11:53
Or maybe he'd skip Yell completely and use Google.
2011-02-08 13:00:33
Presumably Mr Lately had to look up the addresses of the record shops he did venture to, and unless I'm wrong, the yellow pages be it the paper kind or otherwise is still just a directory of the very same and not able to direct you to the location of where an item could be bought, rather just the number to call and ask them.
The yellow pages is as you alude to rather redundant for most these days. If some sort of online database COULD be built where not just the shops addresses themselves but their stock inventaries were publicly searchable, THEN it would be a vital directory for the modern age AND have an ad (albeit quite a nice one that I like) that makes sense.
Still would make the paper version utterly wasteful though.
2011-02-08 13:08:19
[comment deleted by moderator] its a pathetic attempt to revive a classic old advert.
2011-02-08 13:59:00
Under 35? I am 29 and still remember the advert on tele. It was a classic along with the Umpire looking for a panama hat. Unfortunately this more recent advert by yellow pages (sorry... 'Yell') is no longer relevant today.
2011-02-08 14:42:35
It's like in the movies - the updates only make the original look butter I mean better...the butter on the toast threw me for a moment.
2011-02-08 15:12:05
Yes, Google might have been easier BUT I think it's fair to say that independent record shops (a bit like book shops) are often uncatalogued, dusty basements staffed by vinyl-sniffing obsessives. Calling and asking geek-to-geek is not so far-fetched, really.
2011-02-08 19:31:08
Very good character play and the independent record shop feel is totally authentic except for the end shot of the daughter in the trendy house and the mac.
Did it work? hmmm not sure. I'd agree most people would google first go yellow later.
2011-02-09 04:21:56
You should hear the B side remix.
It's well banging.
2011-02-09 10:21:14
It's not the agency's fault that the yellow pages or 'yell' is a relic of a bygone age. All they've done is create a nicely shot and well translated ad (albeit somewhat unbelievable) and it's got many a nostalgia bone tickled and many bloggers talking. Job done.
2011-02-09 14:45:39
Sure it is flawed in several ways (would Day V be his real name?), but I still like the nod to the old advert. I'm 31 and I am amazed it was aired in 84 as I can remember it as clear as day, and it's still a nice little narrative.
2011-02-11 12:22:43
There's no emotional connection. I couldn't give a monkey whether this wannabe DJ finds the record. Whereas a little old grandad trapsing around shops on the verge of a stroke. I want him to find his book that no bookshop stocks, not even a second hand one.
2011-02-11 12:52:08
The pay off at the end when it's his own record he's been searching for will have brought a nostalgic smile to many a viewer over or under 35 but the whole advert is cheapened by the DJs name and his overly deliberate spelling of it to try and force the pun/joke/playonwords - who the hell is called 'Day'. Works the same if he is called Davey Lately doesn't it? Could the agency not arrive at a less crowbarred name?!
2011-02-11 13:06:55
At least Rapier are doing slightly better work now that John Townsend has been sacked.
Remember all that Cable and Wireless rubbish?
2011-02-11 14:44:50
What is the point being in this business if you aren't going to do something original? Advertising referring to itself by re-visiting an old script and 'bringing it up to date and making it relevant'. Boring Rapier. BOR-ING. Chris Palmer and Ed Morris remembering the good old days I suppose - but forgettting it was original back then, and that's why it was good. Move over and let someone else have a go. Punters will think this is annoying - and be reminded that Yellow pages is an old idea as well.
2011-02-11 21:47:07
Real ex DJ
Real Track
And if you find it in real Vinyl stores you win a prize feom the ad agency.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnVwu0ag78U Listen to it
2011-02-13 00:36:07
He needs 'Ravebox' the Old Skool Rave iPhone app not the Yell app.
2011-02-14 12:48:22
Imagine his daughter would have downloaded it on bit torrent in the blink of an eye. Bit late in the day for this kind of fumbling ain't it Day V?
2011-04-07 06:52:21
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