They Fixed For Jim To Sell Anything!
Back in the 70s and 80s, Jimmy Savile was firmly a part of the cultural landscape of the UK. As utterly weird as he came across on TV, many seemed to fall for something about him. Personally I never got it. Even as a kid growing-up in the 70s, I knew there was something undeniable creepy about him. I never wrote to Jim'll Fix It as I wouldn't have want the freak to "fix" anything for me. And that was when he was the darling on prime-time Saturday night TV. Even beamed through the cathode-ray tube into our family living room every week, the "strange danger" alarm bells were ringing loud and clear. Yet the establishment wanted to use Jimmy to sell their products, from board games to British Rail and public information adverts for seat-belt safety, he was everywhere. I've found a bunch of things Jimmy grinning mug was used to promote, some in retrospect are very very dark.
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During the early 80s, Jimmy fronted the campaign that helped revive the fortunes of British Rail. With the introduction of the InterCity 125 high-speed train in the late 70s, he was used to advertise the service with the tag-line "This Is The Age Of The Train". His face could be seen on posters and literature in every railway station in the country.
In January 1971, Jimmy was used in a long running campaign series of Public Information Films, sponsored by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). The phrase he used "Cluck Click Every Trip" was embedded in the psyche of the Britsih public, encouraging them to fasten their seat-belts when travelling in a car. Jimmy's autobiography "Love is An Uphill Thing" was published in 1974, in which he openly talked about sexual encounters with young females. And still they used him to sell their products and services for decades. I guess commerce and profit are always valued higher by some than human dignity.
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Sarcasm A Very British Revolution - The government is trying to detect your sarcasm on social media. Let the war on words begin.
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Charley Says... Don't Do Stupid Shit Kids! - The British public information film series from the 1970s, in which Charley the cat warned kids not to do dumb stuff.
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