Armstrong Rhinofloor
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"So Tough It’s Beautiful" is the strap line for Rhinofloor flooring, and was used in the brand’s TV advertisements in the late 1980’s. The strap line is still successfully used today.
[edit] History
The adverts are of the same style of other successful brand campaigns of the same era, and the main elements of a warehouse location, 'Joe Bloggs' character and humorous storyline were common for mid 80’s TV adverts. Similar adverts of the era would be the VW Jetta adverts, the ‘Test drive a Macintosh’ adverts and the Nissan Sunny adverts. These can be seen on YouTube here, here and here.
The durability, longevity and ease of use of the product is shown in each of the ads:
1984: A man talks to the camera in front of the Armstrong logo and starts to extol the virtues of Rhinofloor. Part way through his sentence the sound of an animal getting closer interrupts him and he finishes his words by shouting and running toward the camera. At that moment a rhino bursts through the wall where he was standing. A voiceover actor then says the strap line.
1985: In a subtle update to the original, the basic storyboard remains the same. A man is stood in front of a wall talking about the benefits of Rhinofloor. The same charging animal sound grows louder, and the man grows more agitated and scared. As the man jumps out of the way of the wall a large rhino shaped bulge appears in the wall but does not break through, the wall is covered in Rhinofloor. As the man walks away relieved the rhino approaches him from the side of the wall.
1986: This ad is slightly more complex than the previous ads – the main difference being the editing of the ad with the character in several different guises: wrapped in a towel, in a pinafore dropping food on the floor, on a child’s tricycle, and in a bowler hat and suit.
[edit] Release of Unseen TV Advert
Recently a fourth, unseen advert has emerged on YouTube posted by TheRhinoHimself. The background of this advert is unknown. It shows a cat walking along a kitchen sink unit in darkness, and a pet food bowl on the floor. As the cat accidently knocks a saucepan lid onto the floor, the true scale of the bowl is revealed as a rhino shadow comes into shot. The same strap line is used as in the previous ads.
