Thompson to light up TVs again
OBJECTIONS TO DVD AD ARE DEALT WITH SO THAT COMIC IS ABLE TO REAPPEAR
GEORDIE legend Bobby Thompson is set to have the last laugh this Christmas following his advertising ban on TV.
A DVD featuring the late great comic, known to generations of fans as the Little Waster, has famously fallen foul of advertising watchdogs over recent years due to his smoking.
Planned TV adverts to promote the annual big-seller were axed because changing rules meant that his trademark cigarette could not be shown. Then last year there were concerns that some of the joke extracts might offend modern tastes.
But now Lindisfarne favourite and local producer Ray Laidlaw has explained how Thompson is making a comeback on TV screens from this week as a new advert meets the stringent requirements – thanks to the tracking down of a snippet of film, just a couple of seconds, of him not smoking.
The Bobby Thompson – The Little Waster DVD remains popular years on from his death in 1988, with new generations of Geordies appreciating the humour of the comedian, who was once such a regular feature of North East clubs in his familiar flat cap and worn-out ‘gansey’ – or jumper – with a Woodbine cigarette hanging from his bottom lip.
While current restrictions do not apply to the content of the DVD, Laidlaw said that issues over its promotional advert – aimed at giving it a boost for Christmas – were first raised about a decade ago, following many years of clips from his 70s shows being seen on TV commercials.
“We first heard about 10 years ago that we couldn’t have him with a cigarette so we digitally took away the cigarette, which took a lot of time and effort, so you could see his hand moving around but you couldn’t see the cigarette.”
Later they had to address the sight of smoke from the cigarette lingering in the air as well as glimpses of some audience members also smoking when Clearcast – a company which works with advertisers to ensure they meet standards set by the Advertising Standards Agency – said that these too breach its code.
And then last year some of Thompson’s material was highlighted as having the potential to offend.
“Since then we’ve been right through everything and that’s when we found two seconds from the entire one-and-ahalf-hour show where there was no cigarette and no smoke,” said Laidlaw.
For the rest of the advert, which made its debut on Tuesday, there remains a static image of Thompson – a man of constant chatter – just smiling. Laidlaw said: “People who have made this decision are down south. They don’t realise what an iconic figure Bobby Thompson was. He epitomised working people and working-class life.”
Before making the advert, they have to first send off the script, which had to be re-written into “Queen’s English,” said Laidlaw.
And while Thompson’s jokes may seem quite tame to many Geordie fans, he says of the company: “They have to follow the letter of the law.”
But the footage involved was filmed more than 40 years ago and is very much of its time, with famous Thompson jokes such as: “We got off the train at Blackpool. The porter runs up to me. ‘Carry your bag?’ I says, ‘Let her walk’” now deemed to have potential to offend women.
“We’re not talking about Bernard Manning or anything like that,” said Laidlaw, adding that far more outrageous is screened every day on TV comedy shows.
And it seems that Thompson certainly still has many loyal fans as the DVD, which is available online and at local outlets such as JG Windows in Newcastle, remains popular.
“It still sells very, very well,” said Laidlaw. He has a reputation passed down the generations.”
“Bobby Thompson was a one-off – a total original.”
So, what might Thompson himself have made of the smoking controversy?
“He laughed at authority,” said Laidlaw. “He’d have found it funny, and would have a gag for it.”
People who have made this decision don’t realise what an iconic figure Bobby Thompson was Ray Laidlaw