Among the honours being heaped on the late John Clarke/Fred Dagg is one he’d probably rather not have – star of the cheapest TVC visuals ever.
His 1980 Para Rubber 30-second commercial featured just one static image throughout the entire ad – the Para Rubber Co logo.
But the lyrics, which Dagg delivers in a now-classic version of If It Weren’t For Your Gumboots, Where Would Ya Be are pure class.
Dagg didn’t do many commercials, but we found another – from the mid-1970s – for Qantas (scroll down for the link).
Not needed by Air NZ
Clarke’s former manager John Barnett says although his client had a fear of flying he was approached by Qantas. The pair “were a bit naughty”, Barnett told NBR this week, and called Air New Zealand to ask if they had thought of using John Clarke to front a campaign – but were told he wouldn’t appeal to their customers.
The reason Qantas wanted to use him was because its extensive polling had shown 98% of New Zealanders knew Fred Dagg/John Clarke and 96% thought he was great, fabulous, or better, Barnett says.
Haere rā, John
So M+AD says farewell to a great Kiwi talent – one who helped define us as a nation.
We thought Steve Braunias did a rather neat job on the great man in this morning’s Herald. Check him out
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