Vague TV Memories Part 5

[canadagoose]

Didn't want to bump an ancient topic, so here's another one.

Can anyone else remember some BT adverts from the early '90s which featured a bit of Private Investigations by Dire Straits? This is a weirdly specific one (like most of my weird TV memories) but I remember it quite well and I can't seem to find it anywhere. Google tells me this:

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Featured snippet from the web
"Private Investigations" is a popular song by Dire Straits from their album Love Over Gold. ... The riff from the song was used on a BT advert in 1994.

But that doesn't help me find the advert. I remember my Dad put the album on in the shop a year or two after the advert was on, and I recognised the song from the advert. Don't suppose anyone else remembers it?

Edit: I wish there was a buzby-horn we could use on here, because given his username, I bet he remembers it.

[DrGreggles]

I remember it being used by Harry Batt on Dick & Dom In Da Bungalow, if that's any help?

[Chriddof]

I think this might be it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46yDhCu2npE

(It says "80s" in the description but it looks more early 90s to me.)

[olliebean]

What a bizarre music choice. Along with that, the slightly strange intonation given to the strapline - "We want your business" - sounds downright sinister.

[the]

I think BT used it in a few of their thrusting 'business' adverts around that time. I'm pretty sure that ad is from 1993/94.

[imitationleather]

I think this might be it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46yDhCu2npE

(It says "80s" in the description but it looks more early 90s to me.)

The "ISDN" bit makes it mid-90s at the earliest, doesn't it?

[Ambient Sheep]

The oddest thing about it for me is that I have absolutely no memory of it at all, given that it's from a time where I watched a lot of telly.

The "ISDN" bit makes it mid-90s at the earliest, doesn't it?

No, it could have been late 80s (buzby would know exactly, of course) but I agree that this ad does look a bit more early-90s.

Then again I watched more TV in the 90s (mortgage) than I did late 80s (partying) so maybe that's evidence for the latter after all.

[Norton Canes]

the slightly strange intonation given to the strapline - "We want your business" - sounds downright sinister

No kidding. Who's doing the v/o?

(also, that close-up of the ear looks really weird)

[gilbertharding]

I think this might be it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46yDhCu2npE

(It says "80s" in the description but it looks more early 90s to me.)

The 'piper' logo makes it between 1991 and 2003.

As a side note, I remember the scandal that the transport managers and the brand managers at BT obviously didn't talk to each other, when the former apparently ordered a shit load of new vehicles in yellow around 1991, without realising the whole business was about to be rebranded and the vans should have been grey.


(This thread is basically The Buzby Klaxon - and he still isn't here!)

[Ambient Sheep]

The 'piper' logo makes it between 1991 and 2003.

Of course!  I should have spotted that myself, but to be honest I had enough trouble watching it just once.

As a side note, I remember the scandal that the transport managers and the brand managers at BT obviously didn't talk to each other, when the former apparently ordered a shit load of new vehicles in yellow around 1991, without realising the whole business was about to be rebranded and the vans should have been grey.

Hah yes, I remember that!  Was first exposed in Private Eye, as I recall.


I hated that bloody piper logo on the side of the vans, as some of it was made out of highly-reflective material.  I'd be driving along some country lane late at night only for this strange white shape to suddenly light up in front of me as my headlights caught one in some BT engineer's home driveway. 

Used to really make me jump, especially as it would be on the "wrong" side of the road... if it had lit up red it wouldn't have been half as scary.

Judging from letters to the papers (granddad), I wasn't the only one caught out by that.

[canadagoose]

I think this might be it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46yDhCu2npE

(It says "80s" in the description but it looks more early 90s to me.)

Ooh, that looks like it - thanks! Probably didn't find it because of the "80s" in the description, but as others have said, it's bound to be '90s.

[touchingcloth]

I've only just realised the piper logo is no more. I thought their weird globe thing was just related to their internet services, but then I've been on Virgin landlines and non-BT mobiles since before the logo was dropped.

[Ambient Sheep]

It genuinely made my day when they got rid of it, stupid piece of shit.

[olliebean]

It was horrible, wasn't it? Stupid wanky prancing thing.

[thecuriousorange]

OK a TV ad, early 90s.

Singing voice: "Do I owe you?"

Another singer: "You don't owe me, you owe *acronym that rhymes with 'me' like KP or T3*.

I think it was for a bank, credit card or insurance company. The voice was that of a slightly-gruff everyman, rather than a professional-sounding singer.

Anyone?

[touchingcloth]

It genuinely made my day when they got rid of it, stupid piece of shit.

Because of the reflective logos?

[canadagoose]

I've only just realised the piper logo is no more. I thought their weird globe thing was just related to their internet services, but then I've been on Virgin landlines and non-BT mobiles since before the logo was dropped.

They've dropped the weird globe thing now, too:



Can't help with the ad thing, thecuriousorange, sorry - doesn't ring any bells.

[Uncle TechTip]

They've dropped the weird globe thing now, too:



Can't help with the ad thing, thecuriousorange, sorry - doesn't ring any bells.

It's just bollocks isn't it. I'm fucking furious that someone got paid for this. I want them to say a girl on work experience knocked it up on lunch and they really liked it and thought that'll save a wad.

(I know that really there will be a host of branding guidelines and design themes that will justify all the effort that some marketing company went to but... it's shit.)

[the]

It's just bollocks isn't it. I'm fucking furious that someone got paid for this. I want them to say a girl on work experience knocked it up on lunch and they really liked it and thought that'll save a wad.

(I know that really there will be a host of branding guidelines and design themes that will justify all the effort that some marketing company went to but... it's shit.)

If a company seeks out a redesign that's simple and clean and they get it, what's gone wrong exactly?

[buzby]

No, it could have been late 80s (buzby would know exactly, of course) but I agree that this ad does look a bit more early-90s.

The first ISDN services were introduced in 1985, using the Bt's own BTNR.190 DASS ISDN specification, which pre-dated the ETSI DSS1 EuroISDN standard, which was officially published in December 1990.. There was an intermediate service called I.421 that was ETSI ISDN to the subscriber but converted to the DASS ISDN protocol within System X that was introduced around 1991 as a quick way to offer an semi-ETSI-compliant service.. The full ETSI DSS1 Euro ISDN Primary and Basic Rate services that supported full end--to-end ETSI ISDN calls was introduced about 1993.

The 'piper' logo makes it between 1991 and 2003.

(This thread is basically The Buzby Klaxon - and he still isn't here!)

I've been off work today, and busy with other things. By the time I fired up the PC for (spam) I found my WiFi was down too.

I hated that bloody piper logo on the side of the vans, as some of it was made out of highly-reflective material.

The stick-on branding for the vans was cut from adhesive ScotchLite retro-reflective film,  the same stuff that's put on emergency services vehicles. It was intended to make the vans visible when parked on unlit roads while doing emergency maintenance work.

The wiki page for the song states it was used in the BT advert in 1994, btw. I'm sure Private Investigations was used on a bank advert too at some point?

They've dropped the weird globe thing now, too:

I'd say there's an element of calling back to the old GPO logo in that:

[Ambient Sheep]

It genuinely made my day when they got rid of it, stupid piece of shit.

Because of the reflective logos?

Partly that and partly simply:

It was horrible, wasn't it? Stupid wanky prancing thing.

I never liked the actual design in the first place, and then the reflective logo just added a nasty practical difficulty too.  It wouldn't have been quite so bad on the back of the vans (although it would have been illegal) but on the sides was really quite distracting as already mentioned.  They should have made the red element light up instead, if they really had to, then it could have been used on both side AND back.

I'm not kidding by the way, when I read the news back in the day it genuinely cheered me up.  It's rare a logo change does that, in fact it's usually the other way round as I like the old ones.  Only Channel 4 dropping their appalling four-circles idents, and BBC2 going back to the 90s Lambie-Nairn ones for a while a few years ago, come close.

Heh if you Google BT piper logo it seems lots of other people didn't like it either...

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/bt-drop-unpopular-piper-logo-rebranding/174885?src_site=brandrepublic

BT to drop unpopular piper logo in rebranding
Claire Billings, March 24, 2003

LONDON - UK telecoms giant BT is to revamp its image and ditch the 12-year-old piper logo that was introduced in 1991 as part of a £50m rebranding.

The piper logo, created by design consultancy Wolff Olins, is believed to have been unpopular with staff, who used to draw obscene variations of the picture.

It was introduced when BT changed its name from British Telecom. The logo was seen as controversial at the time because the £50m makeover that saw it introduced coincided with the company's first wave of large-scale redundancies as it attempted to scale back costs.

At a meeting held before Christmas, BT marketers are believed to have agreed that the piper was out of date and no longer represented what the telecoms giant does. When the piper was introduced the company only provided telephony, it now provides a number of other services such as internet access.

The image is expected to be phased out gradually, and will disappear as BT vans are replaced at the end of their three-year contracts.

The telecoms firm is understood to have instructed advertising agencies to pitch for the rebranding work as part of a review of the logo.

Wolff Olins is not believed to have been asked to repitch, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday.

^{_{(emphasis mine)}}



Post-Preview EDIT:

The stick-on branding for the vans was cut from adhesive ScotchLite retro-reflective film,  the same stuff that's put on emergency services vehicles. It was intended to make the vans visible when parked on unlit roads while doing emergency maintenance work.

Bloody hell, you mean it was actually done for a practical reason?!  Colour me slightly amazed.  'tis a good reason, I suppose.

Surely red would have been better though, to indicate a parked vehicle - could have gone on the back then too.

Thanks for the ISDN information, by the way.

[buzby]

Surely red would have been better though, to indicate a parked vehicle - could have gone on the back then too.

They did go to blue and red on a white background when the logo was refreshed in December 1999.

I think this was trying to evoke the Union Jack colours for the Millenium, but it also had the added bonus of making the procurement and liverying of the vans cheaper - vans no longer had to be custom-painted Telecom Grey by the manufacturer for BT contracts and the red and blue Piper logo was cut from standard adhesive vinyl rather than ScotchLite (the adhesive ScotchLite was also a bugger to strip off when the vans were being repainted or sold on).

[the]

Never noticed the lobster claw before.

[Ambient Sheep]

They did go to blue and red on a white background when the logo was refreshed in December 1999.

Yes, that was an improvement.  Not wonderful, but better.


I'm still amazed that I don't remember the advert in the slightest.  Perhaps they only advertised on ITV, not Channel 4.  Would seem silly for what one would presume was their target audience, but might well explain it.

[Jasha]

Never noticed the lobster claw before.

It was a red snake

[PowerButchi]

OK a TV ad, early 90s.

Singing voice: "Do I owe you?"

Another singer: "You don't owe me, you owe *acronym that rhymes with 'me' like KP or T3*.

I think it was for a bank, credit card or insurance company. The voice was that of a slightly-gruff everyman, rather than a professional-sounding singer.

Anyone?

"I owe you...

You don't owe me, cause you pay DD"

It was something to do with direct debit I think.

Edit: Yeah, Direct Debit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1t6KJa4bwI