JET and the Big O

 

In my nostalgic quest for old TV adverts I've found some that are scary: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/03/scary-tv-ad.html, some that are funny and charming: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/04/powergen-bob.html, and some that are moving: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/05/tennents-hero.html. I have now recalled one that combines elements of the second and third kind. There is only one problem; I can't find a recording of it anywhere. The ad is part of a series that was produced for JET filling stations in the 1990's that emphasized community or family values and friendly small-scale service. Its slogan was: "It's a people thing." The central character is a man who runs a JET station on a busy road and has a cheerful extravert personality. He is popular with the drivers who call at his station to fill up. The main reason he stands out is that he adores the singer-songwriter Roy Orbison. He is such a big fan that he dresses like Orbison, including the smooth black hair and thick sunglasses. He even impersonates him, singing Pretty Woman and Only the Lonely while he goes about his duties. The narrator then says that if there is one thing that character thinks more of than Roy Orbison, it is his JET service station. "You may wonder what management think of (the central character's) strange obsession. Well, they prefer Kenny Rogers... JET, it's a people thing!" What I like about this advert is that it gives out the message that a person's eccentricity is something completely acceptable, even admirable. This message is endorsed by an international corporate brand. JET are proud to have somebody working for them who projects that kind of individuality. How often do you get that these days? Almost never, except perhaps with JD Wetherspoon, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2024/03/wetherspoon-bounces-back.html. Other than that, the trend in service industries is strictly about uniformity and conformity. Public facing personnel are ordered to utter template phrases like "enjoy your meal, please call again". They sometimes are even given courses in the right facial expressions and tones of voice. No wonder hardly anybody notices when we are replaced with machines, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/07/tesco-butlerian-jihad-4-always-ask.html. As far as I'm concerned this is monstrous; and that JET ad from the '90's therefore constitutes a rebel yell. Does anybody else remember this particular TV advert? If you do and you know where a recording of it exists, please let me know.