Though you might have completely forgotten about a handy little (huge) book called the Yellow Pages – or maybe you don’t even know what TF it is – it certainly is still a company that exists and it has just issued a cease & desist notice to equally-as-almost-forgotten choccy company, Darrell Lea.
[jwplayer oTLxnTkI]
Darrell Lea, who you might know better as ‘those chocolates you panic-buy for relatives’ or for its very good peanut brittle, is relaunching after going into receivership back in 2012.
Part of the big push back into the Aussie choccy game is an ad, playing on the nostalgia of the classic “Not happy Jan!” advert, which was coined by comedian Deborah Kennedy in an ad created by Yellow Pages and aired on tv back in 2000.
The reboot of the ad has Deb Kennedy stepping back into her role as the Grumpy Boss, but instead of hollering her dismay out the window after her assistant Jan, she instead counts to ten, take a bite of some choccy, and shouts out “not worries, Jan!” – presumably from the endorphins (??) in the choc.
As reported by Mumbrella, marketing company Sensis (who takes care of both the Yellow Pages and the White Pages) has sent a cease and desist to both Darrell Lea’s team and to all television networks, so that the ad can’t be shown on TV.
They’re very flattered at the call-back to Jan, though.
“We are flattered that Darrell Lea has used our iconic Yellow Pages advertising, featuring ‘Not Happy Jan’. However, it has been used without our consultation or approval,” said Yellow Pages exec general manager, James Ciuffetelli to Mumbrella.
“By imitating our ad, we believe it is misleading to consumers. It’s clear on social media that a number of people believe Yellow Pages has endorsed this campaign, which is not the case.”
Check out both the ads below, and let that sweet 2000s nostalgia wash over you.
https://youtu.be/fPOO0emzAaY
