Love in the Afternoon (advertising campaign)
Encyclopedia
"Love in the Afternoon" was a well-known advertising campaign
used by ABC
to market its soap operas in the form of newspaper
advertisements and television commercials. Focusing on the highly tormented love lives of its main characters, "Love in the Afternoon" was the chief ad campaign for ABC's afternoon lineup from 1975 until 1985.
The idea of marketing soaps as "Love in the Afternoon" was not a unique concept, as rival network NBC
had produced television advertisements promoting their popular couples under the "Love in the Afternoon" banner in 1974. ABC decided to pursue their own "Love in the Afternoon" advertisements when NBC abandoned their campaign.
The "Love in the Afternoon" promos, for the majority of the campaign's decade-long run, featured a simulated sunrise against a blue sky, with the sun centering itself and then flashing to reveal the ABC logo zooming in against a different background. Individual show previews would then been seen, illustrating the many romantic, heated entanglements of the couples-du-jour, but sometimes highlighting non-romantic storylines. Usually two shows from the lineup would be previewed per promo, but it was not uncommon in the early 1980s for there to have been a third soap preview included. With the 1981-82 season, the graphic motif of the campaign was upgraded considerably, with the sunrise now appearing against a more generic blue background with silver and gold lines piercing through; the sun positions itself, and for the first time, flashes the word LOVE in capital letters to semi-title the campaign. The ABC lettering appears inside the "O" in LOVE. Also, between 1982 and 1985, game shows and daytime specials would be added on at the end of "Love in the Afternoon" promos, with their different tone used to book-end the dramatic scenes featured in the main parts of the promo.
There were also two different versions of the "Love in the Afternoon" musical jingle; the original being a slower, more melodious ditty with the lyrics "Fall in love..in the afternoon", and the later one, a slightly faster, uplifting piece, in which the chorus consisted of "Love in the afternoon". The latter was the best known version used full time from 1977 to 1985. However, the original version still turned up occasionally, as late as 1981.
The "Love in the Afternoon" campaign was only a moderate success in the late 1970s; it finally took off in 1980 and 1981 by advertising the wildly popular romance of Luke and Laura on General Hospital
. The campaign also found success in promoting popular couples on another ABC serial, All My Children
, such as Cliff and Nina, Greg and Jenny, and Jesse and Angie. Other shows profiled in "Love in the Afternoon" advertisements included One Life to Live
, Loving
, Ryan's Hope
, and The Edge of Night
.
In 1983, ABC briefly altered the "Love in the Afternoon" commercials to advertise "Loving in the morning," a nod to its then-new serial, Loving, which premiered in a late morning timeslot. After a few months, the regular "Love in the Afternoon" commercials resumed.
As the long-running campaign saw retirement in 1985, it was initially transitioned into a more modern replacement series of commercials utilizing the slogan "Love it!", with coincided with ABC's 1985-86 network campaign You'll Love It.
Over twenty years after the commercials ended production, "Love in the Afternoon" is a term used to describe the stories told on soap opera
s, irrespective of network affiliation.
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
used by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
to market its soap operas in the form of newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
advertisements and television commercials. Focusing on the highly tormented love lives of its main characters, "Love in the Afternoon" was the chief ad campaign for ABC's afternoon lineup from 1975 until 1985.
The idea of marketing soaps as "Love in the Afternoon" was not a unique concept, as rival network NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
had produced television advertisements promoting their popular couples under the "Love in the Afternoon" banner in 1974. ABC decided to pursue their own "Love in the Afternoon" advertisements when NBC abandoned their campaign.
The "Love in the Afternoon" promos, for the majority of the campaign's decade-long run, featured a simulated sunrise against a blue sky, with the sun centering itself and then flashing to reveal the ABC logo zooming in against a different background. Individual show previews would then been seen, illustrating the many romantic, heated entanglements of the couples-du-jour, but sometimes highlighting non-romantic storylines. Usually two shows from the lineup would be previewed per promo, but it was not uncommon in the early 1980s for there to have been a third soap preview included. With the 1981-82 season, the graphic motif of the campaign was upgraded considerably, with the sunrise now appearing against a more generic blue background with silver and gold lines piercing through; the sun positions itself, and for the first time, flashes the word LOVE in capital letters to semi-title the campaign. The ABC lettering appears inside the "O" in LOVE. Also, between 1982 and 1985, game shows and daytime specials would be added on at the end of "Love in the Afternoon" promos, with their different tone used to book-end the dramatic scenes featured in the main parts of the promo.
There were also two different versions of the "Love in the Afternoon" musical jingle; the original being a slower, more melodious ditty with the lyrics "Fall in love..in the afternoon", and the later one, a slightly faster, uplifting piece, in which the chorus consisted of "Love in the afternoon". The latter was the best known version used full time from 1977 to 1985. However, the original version still turned up occasionally, as late as 1981.
The "Love in the Afternoon" campaign was only a moderate success in the late 1970s; it finally took off in 1980 and 1981 by advertising the wildly popular romance of Luke and Laura on General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
. The campaign also found success in promoting popular couples on another ABC serial, All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
, such as Cliff and Nina, Greg and Jenny, and Jesse and Angie. Other shows profiled in "Love in the Afternoon" advertisements included One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
, Loving
Loving (TV series)
Caden Grant Carlton loves Mika Ayako Ryan more.Loving is an American television soap opera which aired on ABC's daytime lineup from June 26, 1983 to November 10, 1995 for 3,169 episodes...
, Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
, and The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
.
In 1983, ABC briefly altered the "Love in the Afternoon" commercials to advertise "Loving in the morning," a nod to its then-new serial, Loving, which premiered in a late morning timeslot. After a few months, the regular "Love in the Afternoon" commercials resumed.
As the long-running campaign saw retirement in 1985, it was initially transitioned into a more modern replacement series of commercials utilizing the slogan "Love it!", with coincided with ABC's 1985-86 network campaign You'll Love It.
Over twenty years after the commercials ended production, "Love in the Afternoon" is a term used to describe the stories told on soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s, irrespective of network affiliation.
Trivia
- A sketch on the children's television series Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
was named "School in the Afternoon," a pun on the "Love in the Afternoon" title.