Over the course of the next ten days we’ll be bringing you a short history of a uniquely South African advertising phenomenon: Liqui-Fruit television ads. Perched high up in the fondly-curated South African Television Advertising Hall of Fame, the Liqui-Fruit ads are up there with greatest hits like the scottish Lunch Bar, and the “Ja Boet” Castrol ads of yore. You’ll remember the ads from your childhood, your adolescence, and your adulthood. More likely, you’ll remember the lovely ladies that starred in them.

Without further ado, we present Liqui-Fruits televisual face of the 1990s, Tanya Eloff.

You all remember the bikini ad, right? Of course you remember the bikini ad.

If you say that you don’t remember the bikini ad, you’re a filthy liar, and you need to stop being naughty, right away. I say this because the plot is dead simple:

The advert focusses on a sexy girl (sweaty, with her hair sticking to her face) who’s in a scorching hot desert. She walks up to an old fridge and takes out an ice cold can of Liqui-Fruit to quench her thirst.

From the above, it’s above that there is little, or rather, nothing at all preventing you from focussing almost exclusively on Tanya, and the bikini. But if you need your memory jogged, please, go right ahead.

Yep, that bikini ad.

In fact, more than any other South African brand, Liqui-Fruit TV ads have been synonymous with the classic, beautiful female icon. And you can read about how that came to pass in Part 1.

From young Lushano Kuhn in the original fantasy commercial and Tanya Eloff on the isolated Namibian beach in her famous golden bikini, to Tracy McGregor on the fruit island and Rue Essop in the desert fantasy – the tradition continues. And you’ll get to see them in the coming days.

But it’s a new decade, and a new face needs to be found.

On the 29th of October the 2012 Liqui-Fruit Girl will be revealed with the first airing of the new TV advert.

To keep abreast of the developments, follow the #LiquiFruitgirl hashtag on Twitter, and visit the Facebook page!