Creative Director's Cut: Look what Tango Dark Berry can do to people

Many, many years ago, when I was at university, I dated a girl whose parents would literally mute the television whenever the ad breaks came on.

They revelled in the moment of hurriedly finding the remote control that had slipped between the sofa cushions, making a big show of hitting the mute button before turning to each other to awkwardly converse. They fucking knew I was studying advertising, as well.

I remember looking past their monotonous drivel and seeing a Tango advert playing silently across their screen. I’m pretty sure it involved a waterbed and a porcupine or some other prickly animal. 

There was brilliance unfolding in that bland living room and they were choosing to ignore it, preferring to discuss what they’d had for their boring lunch.

I promised myself I would never live like that. Never demean the creativity of an industry I was falling in love with.

Cut to 20+ years later, and I now hone in like an eagle on the 5-second countdown of a pre-roll so I can click ‘skip’ the fraction of a second it appears. 

I realise I have become just like those weird, over-communicative parents that muted the ad breaks. But from now on, I’m making an effort to watch every ad.

What really drew this horrific realisation and change in outlook was recently seeing a Tango advert that harked back to the days when Tango made cultural gold every time.

The “Bust” sees a police raid of an illegal Tango Dark Berry lab. One of the cops tries a bit of the concoction and gets completely Tango’d. It’s darkly comic and full of a million reasons why a client wouldn’t buy it, but I’m glad they did. It’s running on TV, on-demand and online.

So please don’t mute it, skip it, or scroll past it. 

Watch it, enjoy it and remember some relationships are never meant to be.