Dear John - BASF

This classic ad was made on a shoestring budget. Milk bottle silver caps stood in for soldier’s dog tags, and a Wellington quarry was used to recreate a Korean War-zone as featured in evergreen TV series M*A*S*H* (from the naming of “O’Reilly” at the top of the mail call, through to the 1953 country and western tearjerker used in the soundtrack, sung by Jacqui Fitzgerald and adapted by Murray Grindlay). The anachronism of cassette tapes in Korea proved a charming twist on the traditional ‘Dear John’ letter.  The Tony Williams directed ad was later voted Best Australasian commercial of the 1980s.

It's interesting that Dear John, which is a rare case of a great idea and is still talked about in the US and UK, recently won best ad of the decade. It was made at the beginning of the decade, and still won best ad, which shows the 'great idea' was lost to commercials in the '80s.

– Tony Williams

Key Cast & Crew

Ron Highfield

Production Designer

Doug Moroney

Writer

Jacqui Fitzgerald

Singer

Murray Grindlay

Music

Roger Brittenden

Writer

Tony Williams

Director, Producer