One of the most irritating adverts on TV at the moment may yet turn out to be one of the most memorable. But for all the wrong reasons.

Spam, originally launched in the UK in 1941, is making a come-back. Or so it’s manufacturers, Hormel Foods, are hoping. Among other promotions, they are pinning their hopes on a dreadful TV spot with an even cheesier catch-phrase, “Spam Up!”

The ad is right up there with all the other ‘worst ads ever’, such as Cillit Bang, online Bingo games and Just For Men. It even has its own appreciation group on Facebook (hmmm – I wonder who put that there?!).

But why did they pay big bucks to air such dire stuff? I presume they DID pay their performers…? I nearly called them actors, but that would be stretching the point. The look-and-feel of the adverts remind me of those awful 1960s washing powder adverts. They weren’t very believable either!

It may be a calculated gamble, but Hormel (via their ad agency Marsteller may have deliberately produced a retro-styled ad purely to cash in on the wartime heritage and 1950s-60s popularity of the product. Yes, it was popular once. Even the Monty Python team used it for one of their classic comedy moments.

Will a new generation of processed meat lovers be enticed to buy Spam in sufficient numbers to cover the ad agency fee? We’ll see…

(Opinion: John Dawkins, designer)

Graphic design, along with the music industry, has often been caught looking over its shoulder at where it has come from.

Very little contemporary music is truly original. It often mimics earlier styles or artists, spawning “tribute” bands and “cover” songs. How many £millions have been made by borrowing the talent and fame of Freddie Mercury or Abba (like them or loathe them)? It’s nothing new. Even Rachmaninov did it in the Romantic era with his “Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini”. In the world of design, we often see earlier styles being re-worked or re-invented. A prime example is the plethora of companies jumping onto the “organic” bandwagon, invariably borrowing styles and colours from the past to generate a particular response in their customers. In America it is a 14 billion dollar a year industry and here in the UK retailers are spending millions to promote their organic produce and eco-friendly products with campaigns that rely on muted, natural colours, traditional imagery and retro graphic styles. But recently a bizarre new twist has emerged. Acquiring the generic term “mashup”, designers are explicitly combining graphic elements from existing work with new content. Designer Huw Gwilliam has convincingly redesigned a set of classic album covers in the style of 1960s Pelican book covers.

Why are people going to such great lengths? There was a time when 1960s styling would be regarded as ugly and hopelessly old fashioned. Town and city planners have rushed to demolish concrete eyesores that maybe now would be regarded with some nostalgia and respect. The works of graphic designers such as Saul Bass and Paul Rand are now regarded as classics and to imitate these giants of graphic design is now seen as cool and clever.

Taking the “retro” concept to its absolute limit is the shady other-world of Steampunk. It’s been around for a while now but essentially clothes modern equipment with 19th century form and function.

The Harry Potter phenomenon and the Disney/Pixar movies “Cars” and “Robots” borrow heavily from this genre. Being a person of a certain age, I like it! To borrow a catch phrase from one of my friends, “The future is in the Past”.

(Opinion: John Dawkins – Designer)