Every year there are media stories on – how shall I put it? – the potential ‘nuisance’ caused by the mistletoe kissing custom. Usually this centres on the dreaded Office Party. But this year is worse than most – the press, inspired by the avalanche of molestation stories, is overflowing with dire warnings about mistletoe.
I should report on that, as it is a serious issue and there are ways (mistletoe ‘etiquette’) to at least reduce the risks.
But not yet. Today I’d prefer to be a little more light-hearted and cover mistletoe kissing in the right spirit. So here’s an innocent video from 1992 – a TV advert for Yellow Pages. This was immensely popular, and was re-used by Yellow Pages every Christmas for several years.
It’s not shown anymore though – probably because Yellow Pages is no longer as thick!
Researching the two young actors is interesting – there are several media reports on the boy, Dean Cook, with a specific feature in the Guardian in 2014 and inclusion in a Daily Mail ‘famous poses’ feature in 2017 (they picture him taking the same pose now – see left). Dean is, depending on which reports you read, either still acting or running an upholstery firm, possibly both of course.
But who was the girl?
I’ll venture into ‘Mistletoe Kissing #2 – the Dark Side ‘ in a day or two…
Meanwhile, of course, if you want to find out more about mistletoe, try the Mistletoe Pages and the English Mistletoe Shop.
Jonathan's Mistletoe Diary 