Lessons from Australia’s most iconic childhood ads 

If we’re lucky, we look back on our childhood with fondness and nostalgia. Speaking as an average Australian Millennial, it was Friday night trips to Blockbuster and a weekend spent with cartoons and music videos in the morning, followed by ‘Hey Hey’ on Saturday night. It was a wildly predictable routine, but one I wouldn’t have wanted any other way.  

But within that routine, I must have been exposed to thousands upon thousands of ads. And now, almost three decades later, it’s as if the same handful of ads were on repeat my entire childhood. Looking back, it was the vivid memories of Yellow Pages’ “Not Happy Jan” playing during a Neighbours ad break (yeah, I was obsessed…), Cottee’s “My Dad Picks The Fruit” during Agro’s Cartoon Connection, and Lube Mobile’s angrier-than-necessary young boy reciting “firteen-firty-firty-two” during the footy that have been forever etched into my memory. 

So, when my colleagues and I at Cubery conducted a deep dive into Australia’s most iconic childhood ads, it wasn’t just about a happy trip down memory lane. Beyond the obvious nostalgia it triggered, what we really wanted to understand was why these ads were able to endure for so many years after they’d been put to bed. 

What the research revealed was that, as with all advertising, it starts with stirring an emotional response. And that’s achieved by first knowing, and then connecting, with your audience. For Australians, it’s not all about the bells and whistles of cinematic magic—rather, a down-to-earth simplicity that relates and resonates. 

Here, simple, self-deprecating humour shone through. Yellow Pages, Paul’s, and RACQ all made the Top 12, with each demonstrating how amusingly relatable dialogue between two average folk can stick with us for generations. The fact that so many of us still use quotes from these ads in our everyday lives is all the proof you need of the effectiveness of this strategy. 

But while we can all quote the one-liners to the letter, what often goes under the radar is that people—almost to a tee—vividly remembered the brand behind these funny moments. And make no mistake, this isn’t a coincidence; by centring the narrative around each respective brand or categorical situation, all of Yellow Pages, Pauls, and RACQ were at the forefront of their respective stories. This meant the outpouring of emotions necessary to get people’s attention didn’t go to waste.  

In the same vein, never discount the power of a good jingle to firmly lodge the brand in people’s heads. The Top 12 was littered with iconic soundbites, showcasing the multitude of benefits offered by jingles. The quintessentially Australian anthems of Vegemite, Aeroplane Jelly, Cottee’s, and Weet-Bix all featured prominently—their genius lying not only in their ability to serve as powerful earworms, but by intertwining the brand right at the centre of the lyrics. As a result, people weren’t just remembering the tune but keeping the brand at the forefront of their minds long after exposure. 

“My dad picks the fruit…”

And this approach isn’t just effective when it comes to forging a strong brand connection, either. It can also work to amplify key functional information, ensuring the brand is front-of-mind when it comes to relevant buying situations. The Reading Writing Hotline’s strategy of contact information retention worked perfectly for the specific needs of its target audience, while having Lube Mobile’s number easily spring to mind in an emergency underlines the impact possible long after the media spend behind it has dried up.  

In an industry obsessed with change, what this research provides a reminder of is that the core fundamentals of long-term effectiveness are just as relevant today as they were many decades ago. While eliciting an emotional response of course plays a critical role in the formation of long-term memories, it ultimately counts for little from a commercial standpoint if these feelings aren’t intrinsically tied to the brand or message. Combine all these factors together and, as the very best of Australian advertising clearly demonstrates, the impact of a single campaign can be felt for many decades.