Still Tango - scam?
Giovanni Ciampa
The counter-advert claims that Still Tango is not related to the Tango range
of soft drinks - yet they are both seemingly produced by the same company
(i.e. Britvic).
There are of course two possibilities:
a) The Britvic reference on the Still Tango can is a fake (in which case
Britvic cound sue for use of the name)
b) The products are related (in which case the "Man from Tango" is lying, and
hence the advert breaks the ASA guidelines re: truth, etc).
Two questions:
1) Has anyone got any concrete evidence one way or the other?
2) What's the phone number in the counter-ad?
--
/----o-------------------------\
| /~\|/~\ | Giovanni Ciampa |
| \O/\\O/ | g...@wcl.bham.ac.uk |
| / \ |--------------------|
| \_/ | I am but a figment |
| \___/ | of my own deranged |
| \_/ | imagination |
\---------+--------------------/
Martin N. Steed
: Has anybody seen the Still Tango advert and counter-advert yet?
: Two questions:
--
Martin N. Steed <mst...@tfs.com>
The C Programming Language: combines the flexibility of assembly language
with the power of assembly language.
Kenny MacLeod
> Has anybody seen the Still Tango advert and counter-advert yet?
>
> The counter-advert claims that Still Tango is not related to the Tango range
> of soft drinks - yet they are both seemingly produced by the same company
> (i.e. Britvic).
>
> There are of course two possibilities:
>
> a) The Britvic reference on the Still Tango can is a fake (in which case
> Britvic cound sue for use of the name)
>
> b) The products are related (in which case the "Man from Tango" is lying, and
> hence the advert breaks the ASA guidelines re: truth, etc).
>
> Two questions:
>
> 1) Has anyone got any concrete evidence one way or the other?
> 2) What's the phone number in the counter-ad?
>
> --
After all the wierd stunts that Britvic have pulled on us, I am not inclined
to take anything they say at all seriously. If you're interested, though,
the number quoted was 0500 22 44 66
If anyone wants to phone it up, perhaps they could get back and
enlighten us. Speaking of which, can anyone remember the 'helpline' number
quoted in the Apple Tango add?
Cheers
K
---
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
{ Kenny MacLeod $ }
{ caa...@ccsun.strath.ac.uk $ If I want your opinion, I'll ask you }
{ Computer & Electronic Systems $ to fill out the necessary form. }
{ University of Strathclyde $ }
{ $ }
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Martin N. Steed
Damn this emacs! Empty posts...
: Giovanni Ciampa (g...@wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk) wrote:
: : Has anybody seen the Still Tango advert and counter-advert yet?
Yes
: : 2) What's the phone number in the counter-ad?
The number was 0500 224466.
Just called it, you get a recorded message, dial it to find out what.
Also, leave name/address and they'll send you a voucher for a free bottle.
Martin
--
Martin N. Steed <mst...@tfs.com>
OLTION'S COMPLETE, UNABRIDGED HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE
Bang! ...crumple.
-- Jery Oltion
Dan Crow
g...@wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk (Giovanni Ciampa) writes:
> Has anybody seen the Still Tango advert and counter-advert yet?
Yup.
>
> The counter-advert claims that Still Tango is not related to the Tango range
> of soft drinks - yet they are both seemingly produced by the same company
> (i.e. Britvic).
>
> There are of course two possibilities:
>
> a) The Britvic reference on the Still Tango can is a fake (in which case
> Britvic cound sue for use of the name)
>
> b) The products are related (in which case the "Man from Tango" is lying, and
> hence the advert breaks the ASA guidelines re: truth, etc).
Lots of adverts don't tell the truth: I'm thinking especially of those
that are spoofs and/or irnoically "lieing". What *exactly* are the
ASA guidelines about this? Some adverts make untrue claims that are
so untrue that no-one minds, and this is clearly acceptable. I'd
agree that the Tango "counter-ads" seem to be pushing the bounds
here.
>
> Two questions:
>
> 1) Has anyone got any concrete evidence one way or the other?
In the great tradition of Usenet, I'll substitute my own completely
unfounded opinion for "concrete evidence" (fair exchange is no
robbery :-). I am sure that the Still Tango is a legitimate Britvic
product and the adverts are part of a deliberate marketing
campaign by some "wonderful" ad agency.
Why? I just don't believe either:
1) that any company would imagine they could get away with such a
blatant theft of the trade name "Tango"
or
2) That Britvic would possibly reply by making and broadcasting an
advert like that. They would immediately sue, *and* get the ASA/ITC
to withdraw the offending ads, which would be much cheaper and get
them just as much publicity.
Anyway, like I said I have no real evidence to present here,
so this is all strictly IMHO.
> 2) What's the phone number in the counter-ad?
Pass.
Dan
Graeme Bishko
>After all the wierd stunts that Britvic have pulled on us, I am not inclined
>to take anything they say at all seriously. If you're interested, though,
>the number quoted was 0500 22 44 66
>
All I get is an engaged tone. Must be dead popular or not connected
:-)
graeme
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+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
Mrs.C.A.Higgins
> If you're interested, though, the number quoted was 0500 22 44 66
>If anyone wants to phone it up, perhaps they could get back and
>enlighten us.
If you ring this number you get the recorded message "Sorry - the number you
have called is out of order". Does look as though this is just one big scam.
Cathy.
Peter Knight
: Has anybody seen the Still Tango advert and counter-advert yet?
: The counter-advert claims that Still Tango is not related to the Tango range
: of soft drinks - yet they are both seemingly produced by the same company
: (i.e. Britvic).
: There are of course two possibilities:
: a) The Britvic reference on the Still Tango can is a fake (in which case
: Britvic cound sue for use of the name)
: b) The products are related (in which case the "Man from Tango" is lying, and
: hence the advert breaks the ASA guidelines re: truth, etc).
Ive got some evidence for 'a'
I have seen the Still Tango ad put out after the 'Man from Tango' one.
So if the 'Still Tango' advert is false, surely it should have been
cancelled immediately as soon as it was discovered.
There is a third surreal possibility:
c) The 'Man from Tango' ad is a fake :-) :-)
Peter
--
Peter Knight Email: p.j.k...@uk.ac.bradford Mono: Cathedrow
_ _ _ _
Who says you can't display letters on a 7 | _| |_ |_ |_| _| _ _ _|
segment display? OK, so you can't do a W..|_ |_| |_ | | |_ |_| | |_| _|
Mr James Beal
>In article <2t21bl$5...@rockall.cc.strath.ac.uk> caa...@ccsun.strath.ac.uk (Kenny MacLeod) writes:
>>After all the wierd stunts that Britvic have pulled on us, I am not inclined
>>to take anything they say at all seriously. If you're interested, though,
>>the number quoted was 0500 22 44 66
>>
>All I get is an engaged tone. Must be dead popular or not connected
>:-)
Being a curious fellow I rang the number and they said it was a joke
and If I would leave my name and address ( and age if under 16 ) then
they would send me a voucher for a free can of still tango. I feel that
this is just lieing and just a way to get a nice list of addresses
of gullible people. any thoughts ?
--
James Beal ( Postmaster )
Royal Free Hospital School Of Medicine,Dept Of Medical Computing And Infomatics
Rowland Hill Street,London,NW3 2PF. Phone +44 (0)71 794 0500 x 4504
Email: jam...@rfhsm.ac.uk Fax +44 (0)71 435 5342
Graeme Bishko
>If you ring this number you get the recorded message "Sorry - the number you
>have called is out of order". Does look as though this is just one big scam.
According to rec.arts.tv.uk, if you ring 0500 22 44 66 (and get
through) a computer laughs at you for being so gullible and then offers
you a free bottle of still tango.
I can't get through either.
>Cathy.
Hi Cathy, hope you had a nice birthday...
Martin N. Steed
Well it worked fine for me.
Strange really as our office phone system is on the whole, crap.
It is Mercury however, and 0500 is Mercury freefone, maybe significant?
Martin
--
Martin N. Steed <mst...@tfs.com>
Mythology, n.:
The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its
origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth, as distinguished
from the true accounts which it invents later.
-- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
Pinky
>Giovanni Ciampa <g...@wcl.bham.ac.uk> wrote:
>Has anybody seen the Still Tango advert and counter-advert yet?
>Two questions:
>
>1) Has anyone got any concrete evidence one way or the other?
** Yes. Still Tango _IS_ made by Tango. Ring the Number.
>2) What's the phone number in the counter-ad?
** 0500 224466. (Its free)
Hope this helps
Martin.
--
Martin Pink*************************************************************
Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum.
Terry Pratchett --- Small Gods.
***************************mp...@cck.cov.ac.uk**************************
ANDY W
>
>The counter-advert claims that Still Tango is not related to the Tango range
>of soft drinks - yet they are both seemingly produced by the same company
>(i.e. Britvic).
>There are of course two possibilities:
>
>a) The Britvic reference on the Still Tango can is a fake (in which case
> Britvic cound sue for use of the name)
>
>b) The products are related (in which case the "Man from Tango" is lying, and
> hence the advert breaks the ASA guidelines re: truth, etc).
If it turns out to be B and this seams increasingly likely then who do we
complain to?
I mean they've got a nerve.
Does anybody know if the ASA or ITC or whoever have got an email address,
Or do I have to go and waste some anger buying a stamp!
_______________________ ________________________
/ _____________________O ANDY W O______________________ \
/ /|__________________ ___________________|\ \
/ /_/__________________O Share and Enjoy O___________________\_\ \
/______________________ _______________________\
|______________________O a...@cck.coventry.ac.uk O_______________________|
I.C. Bache
has just been a publicity stunt by Tango. Still Tango _is_ made by
Britvic, and the idea of the campaign was that they felt it was time
that the consumer was "Tango'd" instead of the guy in the advert.
Ian
Rob May
I got through after about 3 tries last night (Tuesday).
They promised to send me a voucher for a free can of still Tango.
Wonder how long that'll take to arrive. (and how much more junk mail I'll
get as a result of handing out my address).
Rob.
--
--- Robert May. e-mail: rober...@rd.eng.bbc.co.uk Tel: +44 737 832361 ---
-- You may post, repost or publish *ANY* communication received from me --
----- All opinions are mine and are not necessarily shared by the BBC -----
Richard Hayler
: In article <2t1r44$s...@sun4.bham.ac.uk>,
: Giovanni Ciampa <g...@wcl.bham.ac.uk> wrote:
: >Has anybody seen the Still Tango advert and counter-advert yet?
: >b) The products are related (in which case the "Man from Tango" is lying, and
: > hence the advert breaks the ASA guidelines re: truth, etc).
: If it turns out to be B and this seams increasingly likely then who do we
: complain to?
: I mean they've got a nerve.
: Does anybody know if the ASA or ITC or whoever have got an email address,
: Or do I have to go and waste some anger buying a stamp!
I'm sorry, but if you couldn't tell that the advert was bogus
(especially considering the reputation and catch=phrase of the product) then
you really do deserve to be had!
The advert is a joke, perhaps not the funniest, but nevertheless its
a joke, in the same way as the Do-it-all striped paint was an April Fool's
trick.
Do you really feel that you need to waste time and money complaining
about this?
-------------------------------------------------------------
~~\ /~~
(0) (-) ph...@keele.ac.uk
W
n_n_n_n
u-u-u-u "Teethgrinder..."
Clive Stonebridge
>The advert is a joke, perhaps not the funniest, but nevertheless its
>a joke, in the same way as the Do-it-all striped paint was an April Fool's
>trick.
Its not funny at all though just like striped paint isnt funny, the
point is the advert led you to beleive that Still Tango wasnt a
Britvic product, now there are plenty of people out there who
cant be bothered to ring the number up and they dont read the
Sun and they still think the advert is real, they dont realise
it was a joke and probably never will.
>Do you really feel that you need to waste time and money complaining
>about this?
Why not I mean people complain about less things on TV and get
them banned so why not. Let the consumer strike back at the
ridiculous ads for a change.
Clive.
I am too opinionated to represent anyone !!!!
P.D. Glennon
are trying to make interesting adverts raher than the usual dross - would
you rather they advertised `Still Tango' with loads of muscle-bound twats
tarting about on a beach to some shitey soft rock soundtrack like almost
every other soft drink? You're just pissed off that you fell for the joke -
tough shit, matey. I'd expect some mad old Seargent Major in Tunbridge Wells
to lodge a complaint because the humor of the ad was beyond him, but anyone
else -get a life, get out more.
Dom
ANDY W
Richard Hayler <ph...@cc.keele.ac.uk> wrote:
>ANDY W (a...@cck.coventry.ac.uk) wrote:
>: In article <2t1r44$s...@sun4.bham.ac.uk>,
>: Giovanni Ciampa <g...@wcl.bham.ac.uk> wrote:
>: >Has anybody seen the Still Tango advert and counter-advert yet?
>
>: >b) The products are related (in which case the "Man from Tango" is lying, and
>: > hence the advert breaks the ASA guidelines re: truth, etc).
>
>: If it turns out to be B and this seams increasingly likely then who do we
>: complain to?
>
>: I mean they've got a nerve.
>: Does anybody know if the ASA or ITC or whoever have got an email address,
>: Or do I have to go and waste some anger buying a stamp!
>
> I'm sorry, but if you couldn't tell that the advert was bogus
>(especially considering the reputation and catch=phrase of the product) then
>you really do deserve to be had!
Just for the record I strongly suspected the advert was a joke, But that is
not the point. The point is that there a rules for broadcasting adverts
and the advertisers should stick to them
>
> The advert is a joke, perhaps not the funniest, but nevertheless its
>a joke, in the same way as the Do-it-all striped paint was an April Fool's
>trick.
The thing is that this joke isn't funny and isn't obviously a joke!.
Advertisments should be truthful (or at least not blatently untruthful) or
should be done with enough humor to make sure that It is not confused with
fact. eg Beer adverts of recent years.
> Do you really feel that you need to waste time and money complaining
>about this?
>
Yes!!!
because if nobody complains then this sort of advertising will become
more common. I don't object to advertising but those who do it must
behave responsibly and truthfully.
The reson I asked for the email adress was to save wasting money,
But if Tango (and advertising company) get a good wrap on the knucles
it will be time worth spent
Colin Sudlow
|> Its not funny at all though just like striped paint isnt funny, the
|> point is the advert led you to beleive that Still Tango wasnt a
|> Britvic product, now there are plenty of people out there who
|> cant be bothered to ring the number up and they dont read the
|> Sun and they still think the advert is real, they dont realise
|> it was a joke and probably never will.
|>
The main point is that it was a very succesful advert. It made
one helluva lot of people aware of a new product.
Personally, it made me stop and think. Normally I just let adverts
wash over me or press fast-fwd on the VCR. Didn't ring the number
though (didn't even want to admit to the possibility that I may
have even been partly tango-ed :) ).
Still give the Ad-man who thought of the concept a gold star
for ingenuity.
-+-+-
Colin
Martin N. Steed
: Its not funny at all though just like striped paint isnt funny, the
: point is the advert led you to beleive that Still Tango wasnt a
: Britvic product, now there are plenty of people out there who
: cant be bothered to ring the number up and they dont read the
: Sun and they still think the advert is real, they dont realise
: it was a joke and probably never will.
Now this must be a first. Someone reading "The Sun" to get the truth!
Martin
Giovanni Ciampa
: The main point is that it was a very succesful advert. It made
: one helluva lot of people aware of a new product.
: Personally, it made me stop and think. Normally I just let adverts
: wash over me or press fast-fwd on the VCR. Didn't ring the number
: though (didn't even want to admit to the possibility that I may
: have even been partly tango-ed :) ).
This is precisely what happened to me. I caught the last half of the advert
with the phone number, then saw it again whilst advert-hopping, and went back
to check out what the bloke was on about. The next day I saw a tin of Still
Tango (and the related advert), noticed that it was produced by Britvic, which
confirmed in my mind that something wasn't right (I happened to mention it to
my fiancee not two minutes before seeing the can). Hence the original posting
here, to discover what the story was behind the whole campaign.
: Still give the Ad-man who thought of the concept a gold star
: for ingenuity.
Fair enough, if and when I see him I'll buy him a drink. Hows about a nice can
of Coke?
Be seeing you,
Ian Gent
|>
|> Still give the Ad-man who thought of the concept a gold star
|> for ingenuity.
And about minus 3000 for selling skills?
Ok, I haven't seen the ads. But as I have seen on the group,
Tango have made ads asking people NOT to buy Still Tango, right?
Fine by me. I'm going to go right out and not buy any!
By the way, this is Still Tango? That is, Tango without any fizz
to take away the taste? Ouch.
Ian
Calvin Austin
>
>>The advert is a joke, perhaps not the funniest, but nevertheless its
>>a joke, in the same way as the Do-it-all striped paint was an April Fool's
>>trick.
>Its not funny at all though just like striped paint isnt funny, the
>point is the advert led you to beleive that Still Tango wasnt a
>Britvic product, now there are plenty of people out there who
>cant be bothered to ring the number up and they dont read the
>Sun and they still think the advert is real, they dont realise
>it was a joke and probably never will.
Not trying to be awkward, but is Still Tango actually any different
from yer plain old Orange Squash?
hmmm, I wonder if the ad agency thought of this one?
"New, in selected outlets only, real ORANGE SQUASH! buy it now, its no fake"
calvin
Jane Pook
Surely it was obvious that it was a joke advert? The ASA guidelines about
truth in ads could be invoked but there is another ad with someone like
Paul Merton advertising some soap or other face cleaner, saying that
these two twins washed in X and a normal soap for 40 years and look at
the difference. They muck about a bit at the end, but it's
obviously a lie when they make the actual statement, so if you're
following the guide strictly, then that could also be banned.
I don't see what all the fuss is about, it's not exactly a harmful lie
designed to mislead the public, just a joke.
Jane
John Critchley
> In article <2t21bl$5...@rockall.cc.strath.ac.uk> caa...@ccsun.strath.ac.uk (Kenny MacLeod) writes:
> >After all the wierd stunts that Britvic have pulled on us, I am not inclined
> >to take anything they say at all seriously. If you're interested, though,
> >the number quoted was 0500 22 44 66
> >
> All I get is an engaged tone. Must be dead popular or not connected
> :-)
You will probably find that this is the case combined with crappy
routing by BT onto Mercury Freecall Nos.
eg I just tried dialling 0500 22 44 66 several times and couldn't get
through. Then I tried going in via Hg and dialling the no
(ie 132 0500 22 44 66) whereupon I got connected first time.
If I get billed, I'll complain. :)
-jc
Spender
>You're just pissed off that you fell for the joke -
Yeah, but with semi convincing advertising they managed to get one hell of
a lot of market research done using people that were just trying to be
helpful. You won't forget Still Tango in a hurry (although you should do,
cos it tastes like strong Happy Shopper orange squash, but about five times
the price), but I'll doubt you'll ever take seriously a real plead from the
company concerning fakes....Cry Wolf syndrome!
Anyone want to go into producing fake Tango? Just bring a Soda Stream and
some squash!
Dan.
Colin Sudlow
|>After I wrote:
|> |>
|> |> Still give the Ad-man who thought of the concept a gold star
|> |> for ingenuity.
|>
|> And about minus 3000 for selling skills?
|>
aware of the product. So that when they next go shopping
they say "Ooh I've seen that on telly, I'll try some". That
is the Advertisers dream.
Personally, I've seen loads of examples of 'hyping` sales of
an item by getting it banned or appeared to be banned. It
makes People want to buy it to find out what the fuss is
about. For example, would the song "Relax" by Frankie Goes To
Hollywood have reached number one if Radio 1 hadn't of banned
it?
|> Ok, I haven't seen the ads.
There was an advert for "Still Tango" that preceeded the "Tango
Announcement Advert". It was essentially a series of crowd scenes
from a rave shot by an 'amateur' using a hand-held video camera.
It gave the impression that "Still Tango" was product of, or
linked to, the rave culture.
All in all, I think that Tango are trying to convey the image that
"Still Tango" is an illicit drink. They are daring Kids to buy it
and will probably succeed in the attempt.
|> Tango have made ads asking people NOT to buy Still Tango, right?
|> Fine by me. I'm going to go right out and not buy any!
|>
I haven't seen it in any shops yet, so maybe you're right and
Supermarkets are following Tango's advice in not stocking it :)
-+-+-
Colin
David Jose Roy
: >The advert is a joke, perhaps not the funniest, but nevertheless its
: Clive.
For once we have an advert that doesn't treat its audience like
idiots, that is fairly well thought out and nicely made, and you want to
ban it...
From your post, I'm not quite sure whether your reaction is the
"they made me look silly and want to get my own back" variety, or an "of
course *I* knew what was going on, but other, more vulnerable, people
might be taken in by it". Neither of these is a terribly good reason.
The first is understandable, but not terribly helpful (and they did
offer vouchers to anyone they 'tangoed' - they weren't simply laughing
at the 'victims' of the joke), and the second merely patronising
(redolent of Mary Whitehouse's attitude to life).
If we're going to have to have people trying to sell us things
we don't need between programmes we don't have to watch, I'd rather they
did it in an entertaining way, rather than treating us like mindless
vegetables.
David
The Dominator
> Has anybody seen the Still Tango advert and counter-advert yet?
What I can't understand about the Still Tango ad in the nightclub is why,
after the twat says 'It's a cylinder full of liquid refreshment' or some shit
like that, why doesn't he then says 'It's great for taking E's with',
since if it was available in clubs then that's EXACTLY what everyone would
be doing with it.
I read in the newspaper Britvic advert that they wanted to get a 'raw,
home-made feel' to the advert. Crap. It was just badly made, and even if
you did take a camcorder into a club it'd get nicked.
And the way he seems to say 'Enjooooy!' at the end, but it ends up sounding
like 'Endure!' sums it up I think.
Dominator
/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| McClane The Dominator presents Dominic Robinson in his widescreen ratio |
| The star of Police Stop 3 | GIFs on request :) | mcc...@sound.demon.co.uk |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| "You stupid f**king c*nt ! You STUPID f**king c*nt !" |
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!****************************************************************************!
The Dominator
>
> Surely it was obvious that it was a joke advert? The ASA guidelines about
> truth in ads could be invoked but there is another ad with someone like
> Paul Merton advertising some soap or other face cleaner, saying that
> these two twins washed in X and a normal soap for 40 years and look at
> the difference. They muck about a bit at the end, but it's
> obviously a lie when they make the actual statement, so if you're
> following the guide strictly, then that could also be banned.
>
ASA could probably get concerned about, but when that bloke comes on at the
end and specifically says that it's two different girls, then it's 100% clear
to everyone watching it (even the real thickos who would have believed it)
that they were lying and that it was a joke, hence no ban.
C.H.SMITH
>I haven't seen it in any shops yet, so maybe you're right and
>Supermarkets are following Tango's advice in not stocking it :)
I saw it in a small newsagents in the centre of Birmingham yesterday
afternoon. I didn't buy it though.
Catriona
Giovanni Ciampa
: You won't forget Still Tango in a hurry (although you should do, cos it
: tastes like strong Happy Shopper orange squash, but about five times the
Ashamed as I am to admit it, he's right! Well half right anyway. Supermarket
orange squash is sheer nectar compared to the unadulterated bilge that is
Still Tango. I couldn't even be bothered to finish it off, which is not me at
all. I'll put this one down to experience.