In the 1970s I worked on a number of commercials made by Tom Bussmann. His studio was always fully focused, of course, but relaxed and great fun as well. One ad was for a British fortified wine, widely and cheaply sold in supermarkets.
Four British mountaineers had scaled a remote peak and planted the Union flag. Time to toast ourselves with the wine, and we produced tin mugs from our back packs. A colleague was having trouble. “Tom,” he said, “it’s really difficult holding the flag with one hand and pouring into the mug with the other. Is it all right if I take a swig straight from the bottle?”
“No,” came the emphatic reply from Tom at the back of the studio, “that is the image of the product we are trying to dispel by making this commercial.”
