Richard Littledale
Richard Littledale
radio microphone
BBC Radio 2Sarah Kennedy Show
Pause for Thought
Richard Littledale: Series 13, Number 2
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Monday 15 March 2010

I'm sure someone, somewhere devotes many hours to planning exactly what advert goes where on the television schedule. There must be all sorts of factors to consider. There's the money that's been paid, the kind of product being advertised, the frequency of the adverts and a whole lot more besides. All of which makes you notice it all the more when there is a horrible clash.

There I was, in holiday mode, feeling no particular need to spend the ad break doing something more useful, so I was quite happy to sit and watch them The first ad up was part of a health campaign. Aimed principally at children, it was urging the TV audience to swap sugary, salty snacks for something more healthy instead. All good stuff - funny, quirky, excellently produced and memorable.

Oh dear though - the next advert up was VERY different. Once again it was principally aimed at children, and offered one of those 'just add-water-and-and-egg' type cooking mixes. Not only that, but it featured a child saying how how the best bit was licking the bowl afterwards. The last shot on the ad was a close-up of his grinning chocolatey face. In the space of less than one minute we had lurched from ditching the sugar to slurping it up with glee. What a contrast!

But life's full of them, isn't it? Not so long ago a shop near where I live had devil's Halloween masks and Christmas nativity scenes on sale on the same shelf at the same time. Talk about the 'sublime to the ridiculous'. Jesus and the devil were jostling for position right there by the till.

Maybe we just grow used to these contrasts. After all, you can open a page of almost any newspaper and see tales of terrible poverty and adverts for unnecessary luxury side by side.

When Jesus walked the earth life was no less complex than it is now, I'm sure. Then, as now, poverty and wealth sat cheek by jowl. Then, as now, acts of wanton violence and moments of selfless sacrifice shared the headlines. His advice was both simple and profound. Sidestepping the speculation about what all these things meant, he urged his followers to 'do good whilst it is day'.

'Sounds like a plan', as they say. Try to do some good today - although what you eat whilst doing so is entirely up to you!

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© BBC 2010
This talk by Richard Littledale was first broadcast as BBC Radio 2's
breakfast time "Pause for Thought" during the Sarah Kennedy show.
It is reproduced here by permission of the BBC.