Maria and Stavros

I love the new Woolworths ad. When they launched the 'Fresh Food People' campaign I got the drift but it was still way to addy for my liking. And the track annoys the hell out of me. But the introduction of real Fresh Food People makes all the difference.

They don't come any more 'real' than Maria and Stavros, who are entirely charming and disarming. Shot in their native tongue, the commercial depicts an elderly Greek couple apparently having a barney from room to room. Turns out that Maria has spotted the birds attacking the vegetable patch. Stavros saves the day by swivelling in his chair to operate an ingenious makeshift scarecrow contraption. He then returns to a hard day of reading the newspaper, while his wife continues to slave away in the kitchen. All's well with the world.

There's something very cool about old people who know each other through and through and thus can be entirely themselves - no playing games, no pretending, no bullshit. I find their codes intriguing and their level of comfort with one another compelling. I'm reminded of an old Meat and Livestock commission campaign from the UK - again featuring an old couple and set against the Sonny & Cher track "I got you babe".