Ricola Reviewed
Thursday and Friday saw an overwhelming number of people calling in sick to work. Many of the diseased were later seen donning clothing representative of their various alma maters, as if doing so might return them to a happier time, when health and strength was all but guaranteed.
That why we’re selling these Ricola cough drops: to help ease the sickness ailing this country over these past couple days! Why, it’s utter madness out there!
But it’s impossible to see the name Ricola and not remember all the great ads they put out over the years. So we decided to go back and review a few.
1.
Here, we have two heavily-costumed men performing a simple horn-and-vocals rendition of the iconic… uh… can you really call it a ‘jingle’ if it is literally just the name of the company sang in a fun way? Doesn’t matter. You might say it’s the standard bearer, or that it’s beautiful in its simplicity. To us, it’s kind of like going back and watching an iconic trailblazing movie–like, say, John Carpenter’s Halloween–some several decades later: you see why it’s important and how it created a whole genre, but it doesn’t hold up to our current standards.
Rating: 3/5
2.
Narrative has been introduced into the Ricola ad formula, which is a step in the right direction. The problem? The story doesn’t really make sense. The cough is far too small to result in a such a catastrophic dance accident. Not to mention, we end with a literal rim shot, telegraphing the joke. The CGI “reee-co-la” man is not enough to save this one.
Rating: 1/5
3.
A meeting of diplomats is interrupted by sore throats and coughing fits. Luckily, the Swiss representative has some Ricola. The single CGI “reee-co-la” man is replaced here by two CGI “reee-co-la” men. All of this is well and good. What makes it brilliant, though, is the final shot, when the soothed throats of the various diplomats are used to carry out an unintelligible shouting match. Is it a visual representation of the idea the “no good deed goes unpunished”? Or is Ricola saying something deeper about partisanship in global politics? Clearly a very strong and multilayered ad.
Rating: 5/5
Anyway, buy some Ricola and sooth what ails you. And if you have a favorite old Ricola commercial, please post it in the comments!
