Key PointsThe Slip, Slop Slap! jingle has been added to the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia list.The jingle was the soundtrack for the Cancer Council’s sun safety advertising campaign.Other additions for 2023 include Sherbert’s Howzat and The Seekers’ I Am Australian.
The catchy Slip, Slop, Slap! advertising jingle from the 1980s has been recognised as one of the quintessential sounds of Australia.
The ad campaign first ran in 1981 featuring Sid the Seagull, who reminded beachgoers to slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, and slap on a hat.
It’s become the longest-running advert in Australian history according to Phillip Adams, who created the jingle with composer Peter Best.
“Sometimes we’re able to use the devil’s tools for good purpose, and it certainly took off,” Adams told AAP.
“Mind you, melanoma is such a vast problem in our part of the world, so it has special resonance.”
Slip, Slop, Slap! has been widely credited with changing people’s attitudes to sun protection over the last several decades, with Adams using humour to deliver a tough message.
The jingle was made for what was then the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria and has been chosen for the Sounds of Australia registry in the National Film and Sound Archive.
Other Australian sounds recognised
The 2023 additions also include Howzat by Sherbet, fronted by lead singer Daryl Braithwaite.
The Seekers’ anthemic I Am Australian has also been selected, following the death of lead singer Judith Durham in 2022.
As for one of Australia’s most influential ad writers and broadcasters, Adams says it’s great that the jingle has been recognised, and he’s glad the campaign had an effect.
“I’m very pleased to play a tiny part in saving others from unnecessary death,” he said.
Ironically, the man who got Australia to Slip, Slop, Slap! says he’s never needed sunscreen or a hat – he never goes out in the sun.
“I am a nocturnal creature like a vampire bat, I work at nights and I avoid the sun in all its manifestations,” he said.
The 2023 Sounds of Australia include:
Menstruation Blues, Robyn Archer 1976I Only Came To Say Goodbye, Wilma Reading, 1961Anvil Chorus, P. C. Spouse, 1927Sweet Nell of Old Drury, Nellie Stewart , 1931The Death of a Wombat, Ivan Smith (author), George S. English (composer), ABC (broadcaster) 1959The Loved One, The Loved Ones, 1966Menstruation Blues, Robyn Archer, 1977 Harry Williams and the Country Outcasts, Harry and Wilga Williams, 1979Slip Slop Slap jingle, Phillip Adams (writer), Peter Best (composer) and Cancer Council Victoria, 1981Howzat, Sherbet, 1976I am Australian, various, 1997Concerto of the Greater Sea, Joseph Tawadros, 2012
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