When I was a kid growing up in Australia, it seemed like every commercial break during the Saturday morning cartoon's or after-school shows was punctuated by some PSA encouraging us to lead a healthier life. These "community service announcements" were government-sponsored, and often paired a low-budget animations with a catchy jingle. Strangely enough, lots of Australians (me included) remember them fondly, and can still recite the songs on demand. Here are a few of my favourites:
"Slip Slop Slap" made avoiding skin cancer fun (an important lesson in the Sunburnt Country):
There were a whole series of these "Life. Be in it." ads, encouraging us all to get out of the house and do something lest we end up like Norm. (Seems like these ads are undergoing a revival.) I'm pretty sure there was one in the series encouraging Australians to have "one alcohol free day a week", but I'm either misremembering or it's not on YouTube.
But by a long shot, my absolute favourite was the Vitamins Song:
I always hoped there'd be a sequel where the Slip Slop Slap Magpie and Vitamin D resolved their differences in a Battle Royale, but sadly it never came to be. Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks for the memories!
Posted by: David Giles | May 12, 2012 at 14:45