‘People still blame me for their perforated eardrums’: how we made the Tango ads

‘Gil Scott-Heron did the closing voiceover. He was giggling away, saying, “You English guys are crazy!”’My creative partner Al Young and I had been on the dole for 18 months...

By Interviews by Michael Hogan · The Guardian Culture

‘Gil Scott-Heron did the closing voiceover. He was giggling away, saying, “You English guys are crazy!”’ My creative partner Al Young and I had been on the dole for 18 months when we landed our dream jobs at Howell Henry ad agency. We had to prove ourselves fast. Tango’s brief was basically to get talked about. They told us: “We want Coca-Cola to be afraid of this little British brand.” The campaign was based around the hit of real fruit. We decided to escalate that concept, making the hit a physical thing. Continue reading...