TWOSDAY: THEN VS NOW – ADVERTS EDITION

Remember the adverts from the 90s? The ones that played on our TV sets and radios with jingles so catchy we’d hum them for days? The ones where orignal songs or tunes are remised to give a new one fitting to the desired advert, slogans repeated like a mantra, tunes like Hakuna Matata, I wish I had a friend and slogans like, the taste is the difference. Every product came with a story, a moral and that extra dramatic flair. Commercial breaks felt like a mini-entertainment show and sometimes, the ads were more fun than the shows themselves.

Fast forward to today. Ads are slick, fast-paced and sometimes so polished they feel like mini-movies. You’ve got trending TikTok challenges, viral dances, celebrity endorsements and CGI effects that make soda bottles sparkle like diamonds. Everything feels bigger, louder and somehow, less personal. But while the old adverts tugged at nostalgia, the new ones tap into relatability, your lifestyle, your aspirations, your “hustle mode” moments.

Think of it this way: back then, you’d see a family in a sitcom-style living room showing off Maggi cubes, acting like life would fall apart without it. Today, you see a group of friends on a rooftop using the latest energy drink to fuel their dance challenge while tagging brands on Instagram. Old adverts made you smile and memorize jingles; new adverts make you scroll, double-tap and share.

Yet, both had one thing in common: they shaped culture. Old ads made kids reenact them in school plays while teens today replicate scenes for reels and stories. The jingles of the past are still stuck in our heads and the memes of today are just the evolution of that same creativity.

So, whether it’s the “E ba wa ki iya ewe” days or “Swipe up, shop now” vibes, adverts have always had one job, make you pause, laugh, desire or even dance. It’s fun to think about how far we’ve come and even more fun to imagine what the next generation will say about our current adverts.

Old school charm or modern dazzle—which side are you on?