The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By Stephen Lepitak, -

January 6, 2016 | 2 min read

Reckitt Benckiser cleaning product Cillit Bang has for years been synonymous with its wildly enthusiastic brand ambassador Barry Scott. And even though the brand has released campaigns without the enduring spokesperson, he's become one of the longest-running mascots on British TV.

Here are some facts about Scott from over the years.

1. 'Barry Scott' is portrayed by actor Neil Burgess who has also appeared as Male Paramedic in Waking the Dead and Removals Man in Life Begins.

2. Scott's demonstrative campaigns first began to appear in 2005 featuring the catchphrase "Bang! And the dirt is gone!"

3. A hardcore dance track was added to a remix of a Barry Scott ad - it has had nearly 1.5m hits on YouTube at the time of writing.

4. After being 'rested' the character of Scott returned in 2013, although the first campaign was then banned by the Advertising Standards Authority due to exaggerating claims that the cleaning product Cillit Bang Limescale & Shine with Turbo Power could remove stains instantly.

5. In 2014, a student website called Oxygen.IE falsely reported the death of Scott.

6. The report received so many views that the editor, Simon Griffin wrote a tongue-in-cheek open letter to Scott to discuss his success and congregate Scott on becoming a public figure. The letter has not received a response from either the character or the brand.

7. In Scott's latest campaign, he dashes through an assault course, performs somersaults, and wears a purple jumpsuit.

8. Scott's enthusiastic presenting style was parodied in Peter Sarafinowicz's BBC2 comedy show in a sketch dubbed 'Kitchen Gun'.

Barry Scott Advertising Cillit Bang

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