'Not happy, Jan!': The most iconic Australian advertisements through time
Iconic Aussie advertisements
It's funny how the commercial films meant to sell us products can end up becoming a part of our everyday lives – in more ways than one.
Take a look back at all the Aussie ads that made it into the fabric of pop culture.
"I like Aeroplane Jelly"
You wouldn't believe it, but this advertisement that remains in the hearts and minds of Australians first aired in the 1930s.
The original advertisement first aired in cinemas with the song written in 1932.
It was sung by three-year-old Jennifer Paykel, and as the commercial was broadcast live, the toddler was put to work singing the song in a studio up to four times a week.
Joy King recorded the version we are most familiar with in 1937, with the song being played on radio up to 100 times a day at the peak of its popularity.
The cinema advertisement was eventually reused for television in the 1980s, and has had many versions since.
One of the most famous versions is the 1942 one that features the debut of Bertie, the brand's mascot.
He continues to be a staple part of the brand today, being featured on its packaging.
Pauls 2% milk advertisement
The Pauls two percent milk advertisement remains in our collective memory, with many of us rapping the shop owner's line flawlessly every time.
The ad begins with a man entering a corner shop adn asking for a bottle of milk.
The lady rambles off the now iconic line: "Low fat, no fat, full cream, high calcium, high protein, soy, light, skim, omega 3, high calcium with vitamin d and folate or extra dollop?"
"I just want milk that tastes like real milk," said the man in response, a line that has also become famous.
The woman then pulls out a bottle of Pauls two per cent milk and tells him, "This tastes like real milk," before giving the man a disdainful look up and down and adding, "and only two per cent fat".
"Marge, the rains are here!"
Who could forget the ad with the farmer hearing drops of water on his corrugated tin roof in the outback?
He excitedly yelled out to his wife, "Marge, the rains are here!", hoping it was the end to the drought...
...only it turned out to be his grandchildren eating corn that was so juicy it was mistaken for rain.
At the time, Australia was in the middle of a drought, which really brought the point home and made the phrase, "Marge, the rains are here!" part of our normal conversation.
"I Still Call Australia Home"
Qantas' iconic ad starring children singing to I Still Call Australia Home tugs at the heartstrings of every Aussie.
The advertisement notably features children clad in white purely singing against the backdrop of some of Australia's biggest landmarks, including Uluru.
"Happy Little Vegemites"
The 1950s Vegemite advertisement had us all proclaiming that we were "Happy Little Vegemites", with the jingle still popular 70 years on.
Aussies of all ages know the tune: "We're happy little Vegemites as bright as bright can be, we all enjoy our Vegemite for breakfast, lunch and tea".
"Our mummies say we're growing stronger every single week, because we love our Vegemite, we all adore our Vegemite, it puts a rose in every cheek!"
The child actress who embodied the happy little vegemite with rosy cheeks was then-seven-year-old, Trish Kavanaugh.
Seven decades on, she spoke to Nine about the experience.
"I was seven years old and dancing was a passion for me," she said of the 1959 television advertisement.
"There were eight of us chosen and I was the lucky one to be chosen to be on top of the jar and eating the toast."
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