Ajax jingle to return with Paula Duncan reprising character of frantic housewife
Colgate-Palmolive is bringing back veteran Australian actor Paula Duncan to front its new Ajax Spray n’ Wipe TV ad 22 years after the first creative went to air.
Duncan, well known for her roles in The Young Doctors, Prisoner, Neighbours, Home & Away and Mother & Son, will return to star in the ad for the cleaning brand after a six-year hiatus.
She will reprise her character as the busy housewife who is always seen frantically cleaning her house, with a voice over of her singing the Ajax Spray n’ Wipe jingle.
The new ad, which is yet to be unveiled, will air in March. Created by George Patterson Y&R, the storyline will centre around the theme of her daughter’s wedding which suffers a last minute venue change.
The original brief, written in 1987, was executed by FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding) with the goal of driving awareness to the Ajax Spray n’ Wipe brand.
The jingle was derived from the song “Billericay Dickie” by 1970’s English band Ian Dury and The Blockheads, with new lyrics written by the agency to reflect the different storylines in each creative.
The first ad aired in 1988 with the “Real Estate” execution. It set up the now familiar storyline of panic due to unexpected mess or impending visitors followed by a quick and easy clean up using Ajax Spray n’ Wipe.
George Patterson Y&R took over the ad account in the 1990s. It created ads in the series including “Back From Holidays” in 2002 and “Posh Relatives” in 2004.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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22 yeas ago? Geez, I remember that ad like it was yesterday.
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We took the kids away/ To have a holiday
but the place had been let go / by some naughty so and so
Ajax Spray n Wipe all purpose / Now faster, and tougher *spray spray* On every surface!
We got the cleaning out of the way/ And enjoyed our holiday
So thankyou, new faster tougher Ajax Spray and Wipe
^^ all from memory. I’m going to have that in my head all day now. :<
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I love the way ad 2 (9 seconds in) talks about cleaning up “after last nights bash” and there’s a shot of a horizontal mirror being wiped.
Gold.
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glanst >> what about this one? 😉
It was as pretty as a picture / But inside it really hit ya
So to make it squeaky clean / And kill the germs that can’t be seen
Ajax Spray n Wipe is best / Cos it cleans and disinfects
Thank you, Ajax Spray n Wipe!
It’s funny, I was cleaning my kitchen last night and got the jingle stuck in my head automatically… Amazing sticking power!
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Bring back the jingle. Jees that ad is a permanent fixture in the memories of most thirty / fortysomethings in this country. A classic
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I don’t know which execution this is but the lyrics I remember are “the one morning I could lie in, my daughter came in crying, she’d nabbed that rich boy Ray and his folks were on their way…”
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Thats the one i remember… “what a rude awakening, the house looked like a break in
with spray adn wipe all purpose, i cleaned up every surface”!!! Fabulous!
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