Doyle Dane Bernbach Inc. Vice President, Copy Supervisor
Mrs. Parker My second choice is a commercial---no, a series of commercials---that I did with Len Sirowitz for Pacquins Hand Lotion.
We had new hand lotion which was essntially a "me-too" product---just cnther in a field dominated by the giant, Jergens Lotion. There rallywas no product difference to talk about. So we decided to make Paquins unique by means of unique personalty.
We created a very unusual spokswoman--a Talking Hand. The practice of making a human hand appear to talk goes back to our nursery days, but we bimproved upon it by drawing a very seductive face on the hand, and by giving it the scxiest voice in the world---that of actrcs-singer Eartha Kitt.
We placed our Talking Hand in all kinds of dangerous situations---detergent
dishwaterr, winter winds, hot sun and saltwater on the beach----and throughout her adventures, she tells how she oouldn't survive them without Pacquins Hand Lotion. She also has one romantic escapade which ends happily---with a passionate embrace by a man's hand. It is a very erotic sence, and I don't think the censors would have let it pass if it had been done by two whole people, instead of just their hans.
The commercials were technically quite difficult. It took Len an hour before each shooting to get !he face painted on !he model's hand. We pre-recorded Eartha Kitt's voice, and the model reheared for days, playing the tape over and over get the "mouth" movements' of her hand to syne cxactly with the words.
We also did I sales film where the Talking Hind addresse the Pacquins salesmen, scductively--- smoking a cirgarette throughout. But we did not make it into a commercial bcause we know how strongly Bill Brnbach feel against popularizing smoking on the air. As you may know, DDB refuses to handle cigarettte accounts.
The serise proved to have very high memorability, and got the product widely known. Perhaps our most enthusiastic audience was among children ---not exactly the heaviest consummers of hand lotion, but they do buy their mothers birthdqay and Christmsa presents.
TV-CM for Pacquins Hand Lotion "Talking Hand"
