Shake n' Vac

Glade Shake n' Vac
AgencyS. C. Johnson & Son
LanguageEnglish
Running time30 seconds
Product
  • Glade Shake n' Vac
Release date(s)1980
Music by1950s rock and roll style
Starring
Country United Kingdom

Glade Shake n' Vac is a powdered carpet freshener. The powder is shaken onto the carpet before vacuuming. It is marketed and sold in the United Kingdom by S. C. Johnson & Son.[1] First sold in 1979, the product became well known because of its popular "Dancing Woman" television commercial during the 1980s, and the television advert was voted one of the most popular in Britain.[2]

Advertising

First going on air in the early 1980s, the advertisement featured the English actress Jenny Logan,[3] dancing about in a typical British living room in high heels, shaking the powder onto a carpet and vacuuming it up, while appearing to sing a musical jingle. The main lyric is "do the Shake n' Vac, and put the freshness back". The commercial was produced by Benton and Bowles advertising agency, written and art directed by Peter West and Guy Winston and produced by Simon Wells. The director was Bob Mahoney. The song was written by English actress/songwriter/comedienne Kate Robbins.

Although the Shake n' Vac product was on sale in shops in 1979, ITV industrial action of 1979 resulted in the television advert being delayed until 1980.[4]

The jingle was in a 1950s rock and roll retro style, a style very popular in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2000, the advertisement polled 18th place in the Channel 4 The 100 Greatest TV Adverts programme,[5] and an ITV list in 2005.[6]

References

  1. ^ "S.C Johnson, Shake n' Vac". SC johnson. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  2. ^ Matthew Moore (26 June 2006). "Daily Telegraph, Shake n' Vac named most popular TV jingle". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 March 2008.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ "The internet movie database, Jenny Logan's acting career". Internet movie database. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  4. ^ "Marketing Intelligence Advertisers, Johnson wax". Marketing Intelligence Advertisers. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  5. ^ "The 100 Greatest TV adverts". DVDfever. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  6. ^ "Classic Ads : Spots and Spot Innovation : TV Toolbox : Thinkbox". Archived from the original on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2009.