Specsavers has teamed up with former politician and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth for a lighthearted campaign to highlight how hearing loss can lead to misheard and butchered phrases.
The spot comes as Specsavers is introducing its ‘Misheard Manifesto’ which highlights commonly misheard English sayings – in an effort to encourage more people to get their hearing checked.
“Clear hearing is the cornerstone of clear conversations,” says Brandreth, citing his status as a ‘wordsmith’ against the backdrop of classical music.
“So, if you’ve ever heard these treasured sayings as ‘escapegoat’ when its ‘scapegoat’ or dare I say it ‘nip it in the butt’ when its ‘nip it in the bud’, consider getting a hearing check.”
“I recently had one after noticing I had been asking people to repeat themselves more frequently and found out I have some hearing loss. I’ve now got hearing aids and I’m amazed to discover how things sound again,” Brandreth continues.
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The manifesto reads: “For too long people have been mishearing everyday sayings – from ‘escape goat’ to ‘damp squid’ because people are too polite to correct each other”.
“Specsavers vows to make 2024 the year misheard sayings end”.
It follows on from a set of recent research from the universities of Manchester and Nottingham which revealed that more than a quarter of the UK’s population are estimated to have some form of hearing loss.
The humorous take comes after the brand highly successful ‘Misheard’ radio spot, which played on the fact that Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ is one of the most commonly misheard songs by replacing the lyrics.
