Orange Tango Megaphone

Forgotten Adverts · 2000

Published

Orange Tango's 2000 Megaphone promotion offered a branded toy through a direct-response giveaway. Britvic and HHCL + Partners withdrew the original advertising after complaints about how the megaphone might be used.

Why It Mattered

The campaign illustrates how a physical promotional item could create risks beyond the claims made for the drink itself. Its withdrawal became part of Tango's wider history of deliberately provocative advertising.

Campaign Mechanics

- The commercial featured a young James Corden as the target of the megaphone-wielding group. - The commercial’s orange-haired men used toy megaphones to repeat or mimic his words. - The call-to-action invited viewers to phone for a Tango megaphone.

Withdrawal and Complaints

- Contemporary reports published on 9 March 2000 said the advert had been pulled; a 23 March report described it as suspended. - Marketing Week reported more than 65 complaints at withdrawal, while later reporting referred to 83 complainants. - Contemporary reporting said the ITC upheld complaints concerning bullying and copycat-risk in school settings.

Record Boundaries

- The original bullying-themed execution is historically withdrawn, not evidence that Tango itself was discontinued. - No verified institutional holding or rights-cleared record for the physical megaphone, clips or stills has been identified.

Associated With

Britvic / HHCL + Partners - advertiser or agency

Defining Feature

Orange Tango toy megaphone direct-response giveaway

Status

Discontinued - Historically withdrawn original promotion

Primary Records

- **ITC advertising-complaints archive entry, complaint ID 308: Tango Orange** - **Middlesex University Research Repository thesis appendix** - **Simon R. Jones professional awards résumé** - **Archival upload of the withdrawn Tango Megaphone advert**

Image Sources

- **Image 1** - **Image 2** - **Image 3** - **Image 4** - **Image 5**

Rights Notice

Images are included for historical and archival reference. Rights holders may contact Forgotten Archive through the publishing account to request a credit correction or removal.

Gallery

Low-resolution commercial still showing a seated man in a grey shirt surrounded by five men, several holding bright orange megaphones close to him.
Source
Credit

Daily Mail

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Orange megaphones dominate this Tango scene, turning the promotional object into part of the advert’s noisy joke.

Black-background product image of an orange Tango megaphone with a black circular end cap beside a black Tango Orange can; the cap reads “Push here to shout” and “Speak here!”
Source
Credit

Simon R. Jones

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

The Tango megaphone made the brand's noisy advertising personality into an object customers could actually acquire and use.

Photograph of a printed Tango Megaphone advertisement showing a large orange-and-black megaphone with labelled features, offer instructions, and an application form.
Source
Credit

eBay UK

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

The printed “Free Tango Megaphone” offer shows how viewers could obtain the object used in the campaign.

Low-resolution close-up commercial still of a young man's face marked with dark writing on his forehead, surrounded by men and two orange megaphone openings; small white text appears along the bottom.
Source
Credit

YouTube

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

The campaign’s phone-number gag puts the call to action directly into the performance surrounding the megaphone offer.

Blue-background Tango Orange promotion showing a black Tango bottle, an orange-and-black megaphone, a portrait of a smiling man, and the telephone number “0906 19 19 500” with call-charge text.
Source
Credit

Tango / Britvic advertising film; still from the supplied Megaphone Hotline advert

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

The Megaphone Hotline advert invited viewers to take part in Tango's promotional joke, using a phone number to connect the television campaign to the giveaway.