Not happy, Jan!
"Not happy, Jan!" was a line delivered by actress Deborah Kennedy in an Australian television advertisement from the year 2000. Due to the ad's popularity in Australia, the line entered the cultural vernacular as a catchphrase used to express a feeling of discontent.
Background
The
Since the advertisement, "Not happy, Jan" has entered the Australian vernacular to express displeasure, particularly at a problem caused by another's negligence or incompetence. In the time immediately following the advertisement, it was usually said in a manner which mimicked the advertisement, but today is usually spoken with a casual, slightly stern tone.[2] Understandably, women named Jan were particularly targeted.
The phrase was co-opted by the unsuccessful 'Not happy, John!' campaign, opposing the re-election of Australian Prime Minister John Howard in the 2004 federal election. The title of the campaign also became the title of a book detailing the negative aspects of the Howard Government.[3] Both "Not happy, Jan", and "Not happy, John", are common noms de plume used in short letters to newspaper editors.
The commercial was featured on a 2005 episode of the Australian TV series 20 to One as one of the best Australian commercials of all time. The catchphrase "Not happy, Jan!" was also rated as best catchphrase in Australia on the similar TV series The Spearman Experiment in 2009.
The characters were relaunched in 2019, including a role reprisal with Deborah Kennedy, with the ad duplicated almost shot-for-shot as promotion for the re-launch of Darrell Lea chocolates, putting a twist on the end of the ad by having Darrell Lea chocolates calming Kennedy's character into forgiveness and having her character shout "No worries, Jan!". Sensis sent cease-and-desist requests to Darrell Lea confectionery company, their advertising agency Akkomplice, and the television stations broadcasting the updated commercial, which was acknowledged by Darrell Lea, who withdrew the ad and sardonically offered Yellow Pages chocolates to calm them down.[4]
References
- ^ "Very happy, Jan". Australasian Business Intelligence. 6 June 2003. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- ^ Magazine, B&T (2020-09-28). ""Not Happy Jan!" One Of Australian Advertising's Finest Moments Celebrates Its 20th Birthday". B&T. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
- ^ Lee, Julian (28 October 2004). "Doing very nicely, thanks Jan". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2007-06-27. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- ^ Powell, Dominic (2019-06-03). "Darrell Lea issued cease-and-desist after remaking iconic 'Not Happy Jan' advertisement". SmartCompany. Retrieved 2022-07-20.