Dusty reminds us to go back in search of sporting beauty
For others it can be difficult – burdensome, laden with anxiety and dread. If you are like me and you can’t remember whether you have even gone through the toll yet, well, you probably fall someplace in the emotional buffer zone. Lost in a wormhole of half-thoughts, oblivious to the seasonal dross on the radio, there is only one song playing on a loop in your mind and scoring your camino west into the sinking solstice sun — Dusty Springfield and Goin’ Back.
What an odd world it is that the ESB marketing department circa 1988 is responsible for providing the contextual backdrop to such a seminal collection of moments in your life. Imagine the woolly jumper/Terry McDermott ‘tash combo the guy responsible for that add was sporting when he pitched the idea of wholesome college kid returning home dreaming of electric blankets, carte blanche use of a tumble drier, and the all-to-rare treat of the immersion being left on. Adding Springfield’s voice to the scene was pure Mad Men genius. In fact, Seamus from ESB marketing was probably the inspiration for Don Draper’s character — save for the Glenmorangie fuelled sartorial elegance. This was ESB’s Coca Cola moment, and credit where it’s due, they nailed it.
