The Age of the Train
 The InterCity 125 train | |
| Agency | Allen, Brady & Marsh |
|---|---|
| Client | British Rail |
| Market | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Media | Television |
| Product | |
| Release date(s) | 1980 |
| Slogan |
|
| Written by | Rod Allen |
| Starring | |
| Followed by | "We're getting there" |
"The Age of the Train" was a television advertising campaign in the United Kingdom created by British Rail in the late-1970s to promote its InterCity rail travel service. The adverts were presented by DJ and BBC presenter Jimmy Savile and featured the then-new InterCity 125 high-speed train.[1]
Background
Although a state-owned corporation at the time, British Rail was under pressure to operate on a more commercial basis. In attempt to revive its loss-making business, BR chairman Sir Peter Parker commissioned a series of commercials from Peter Marsh of the advertising agency Allen, Brady and Marsh (ABM).[2][3] The agency reportedly won the pitch to BR by keeping their visiting executives waiting for a long time in a dirty room surrounded by overflowing ashtrays and coffee-stained furniture; after the executives' patience came to an end and they were about to leave in disgust, Marsh entered the room to greet them, explaining that their treatment had been a ruse to illustrate the customer experience of BR, and that his agency would be able put it right.[4][5]
The reason Savile was selected to front the advertising campaign, was because at the time, he was perceived as being both a popular and family-friendly television personality.[6] The slogan, "This is the Age of the Train", is credited to the advertising executive Rod Allen, also of ABM.[7]
The advertisements continued to be produced until 1984, when they were replaced with a new campaign based on the slogan, "We're getting there".[1] In 2012, during the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal, it was alleged by a former BR lawyer that the decision to drop Savile from the adverts had been made due to suspicions he was a necrophiliac.[8]
References
- "The Age of the Train". The Age of the Train. 13 September 2012. BBC. BBC Four. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- ^ a b Moran, Joe (2008). Queuing for Beginners the Story of Daily Life from Breakfast to Bedtime. London: Profile Books. p. 27. ISBN 9781847650658.
- ^ "How Jimmy Savile helped revive rail travel 30 years ago". BBC News. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ "TV Commercials". Southern Railway Publicity. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ Williams, Luke (2011). "5. Making a Disruptive Pitch". Disrupt: think the unthinkable to spark transformation in your business (1. print. ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FT Press. p. 151. ISBN 9780137025145.
- ^ "Obituary: Peter Marsh". Herald Scotland. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ^ manager, Tanya Jackson ; foreword by Chris Green, former British Rail (2013). "2. Some sort of an Organisation". British Railways The Nation's Railway. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN 9780752497426.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Rod Allen, Advertising 'jingle king'". the Independent. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ Faull, Jennifer (26 November 2012). "The ad that was axed when British Rail heard rumours Savile was a necrophiliac". The Drum. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2016.