Shake 'n' Vac
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Glade Shake 'n' Vac is a powdered carpet freshener. The powder is shaken onto the carpet before hoovering. It is currently marketed and sold in the United Kingdom by S. C. Johnson & Son.
The product, still available as of September 2007, is primarily remembered for its iconic Dancing Woman TV advert shown until 1989. There has been some controversy over when the advert was first aired. This may be due to the staggered launch of the product throughout the UK, which was common practice with new products throughout the UK at the time. Different ITV regions will have received the advert at different times.
The advert featured Jenny Logan dancing around a typical British living room in high heels, shaking the powder onto the carpet and hoovering it up, while singing a musical jingle. The main lyric is "do the Shake 'n' Vac, and put the freshness back".
In 2000, the advert polled 18th place in the Channel 4 The 100 Greatest TV Adverts programme [1]. Jenny Logan appeared in the programme and stated that filming the advert had been difficult, as she had been ill at the time.
While the 100 Greatest TV Adverts programme claimed the advert was broadcast in 1979, this is disputed. Instead, it is claimed, the advert first appeared in 1985. According to the book Box of Delights (ISBN 0333518128), it first appeared in 1985, and this is backed up by the earliest print reference to Shake 'n' Vac being a 1982 newspaper advert.
Several sites state that the product was first sold in 1979, but that advertising was delayed until 1980 due to the ITV strike of 1979.
Jenny Logan also appeared on This Morning in 2004 as a guest to talk about the well-remembered advert. In 2005, ITV named it one of their best ever commercials as part of their 50th birthday celebrations.