Tunes Adverts from the 1980s

So were you a Tunes or a Lockets person back in the 1980s? Personally, I always preferred cherry flavoured Tunes, although I always thought Lockets were certainly better at calming a sore throat due to their liquid centre, but I just wasn't so keen on the taste.

Tunes Window Cleaner Advert

This first advert from 1988 features an out-of-tune window cleaner at the top of his ladder, trying to sing "A Teenager In Love", which was originally a UK one hit wonder for Dion & The Belmonts, reaching No.28 in 1959.

He interrupts two attractive young ladies, who are chatting at the table. The blonde girl (Barbara) is distracted by the guy and says to her friend "I think your window cleaner needs retuning". Phew! For a minute there I thought we were going to view a saucy scene from Confessions Of A Window Cleaner - not on daytime TV, please!

In the next scene, the window cleaner rings the doorbell, and when the two ladies open the door, they are astonished to see the window cleaner together with his fellow workers. They are clicking their fingers and singing in a classic 50s Doo-wop style "That will be £3.50 madam" to the tune of "A Teenager in Love", while still dressed in their work gear. Miraculously, the guy can suddenly sing in tune! I would've been tempted to say to him "Sod off, you're too expensive mate!".

The as ends with the slogan "Tune help you breather more easily". There were three flavours available of the popular throat sweet at this time, which included the classic menthol cherry, honey and the horrible blackcurrant ones - did anyone really like those?

Tunes Train To Nottingham Advert

In the next advert, which is the more memorable of the two, a guy with a blocked up nose walks up to the ticket booth at a train station and asks for a "second class return to Dottingham please". The ticket master looks confused "Where was that sir?". Of course, the guy means Nottingham. After eating the throat sweet he returns to the booth and speaks in an amusingly exaggerated clear voice.

I do actually remember this advert and it was one of my favourite TV ads from the 1980s. The ending always made me laugh when he says "Tuuuunes!" and the bemused look on the ticket master's face is priceless! 

Tunes are currently produced by The Wrigley Company Ltd in Plymouth, although they have stiff competition from rival brands such as Halls Soothers and Strepsils and Lockets.