Pete Pallett / Freelance Senior Copywriter / Vancouver BC
Pete Pallett / Freelance Senior Copywriter / Vancouver BC
Copywriting of Public Service TV Commercial
”Don’t You Put It In Your Mouth”
My claim to fame.
Concerned Children's Advertisers was a Canadian non-profit organization. Its members included both private companies that market to children, and Canadian television networks and broadcasters. Advertisers agreed to create a public service tv commercial when requested (topic supplied by CCA), and the participating media would air the campaign free of charge.
One such advertiser had Palmer Jarvis Advertising (DDB) as their agency, and it became this advertiser’s turn to fund creative and production of a tv spot. The project was assigned to me to write, and to Jan Hall to art direct.
Our brief was something like, “OK guys, we need a tv spot that educates children about the dangers of ingesting foreign substances”, or something like that, along with “And don’t spend much time on it”, probably.
Our idea was to have puppets, singing a song (breakthrough, right?) I wrote some lyrics based around the theme of “Don’t You Put It In Your Mouth”. I sang the lyrics to our Creative Director who laughed and laughed and then said, “You’re serious, right?”
Jan contacted a local puppeteer who agreed to do the commercial, and we got audio and video production companies on board.
The commercial was so popular, it was used for ten years. We’d never have guessed that the spot is adored by an entire generation of Canadians who grew up with it as part of their television viewing experience.
The commercials have millions of views on YouTube and elsewhere. A new Onion or Beaverton story (“Canadian Government Green Lights Nitty-Gritty Film Adaptation of Children’s Classic) pops up about it every few months. It’s been remade for the pandemic version as “Just Stay The Fuck At Home”. People go to Halloween parties dressed as the characters. Mugs and t-shirts are sold online. It appears as a meme now and then. And it’s even been the subject of one student’s English assignment.
I’m viewed as a minor celebrity by young people who learn that I wrote their favourite commercial. People in clients’ workplaces have introduced themselves to me to say how much they love the campaign. All you have to do is read the comments on YouTube.
And that, my friends, is my claim to fame.
My Contribution: Concept Development, Copywriting, Lyric Writing (in collaboration with Murray Price of KOKO Productions)
Art Director: Jan Hall
Creative Director: Alan Russell
Agency: DDB Vancouver
Audio Production: KOKO Productions
Producer: Murray Price
Video Production: Cactus Productions, Vancouver
Puppet Characters: Fran Dowie, Vancouver