After noticing that something strange has happened to Lily from Big Save Furniture, Tara Ward delves into her rich, loud, bargain-filled history.

Breaking news, New Zealand: something terrible has happened to Big Save Lily.

You’ll need to sit down on your corner lounge suite for this one, because Lily’s legendary Big Save Furniture ads are no more. Gone is the wide-eyed glee, the over-enthusiastic shouting, the crazy costumes and nonsensical gimmicks. Someone has stripped these ads bare, pulled out their Lily-flavoured stuffing and used their fancy staplegun to recover them in a soft, muted layer of sophistication and style.

WHAT. THE. FLIPPING. HECK.

Where Lily once flew through the air like a furniture superhero, she now sits on the sand dunes, as quiet and steady as an ornamental hall table. A piano plonks away in the background as Lily stares softly into the past, probably remembering that classic time she was stuck between a pile of mattresses bellowing “WE’VE GOT TOO MUCH STOCK!”

Oh, how we laughed. Now we’re left with only our memories and 25% off all bedroom furniture.

I think there’s more to these ads than just simple brand refreshment, and I’m as worried as the time when Lily chucked on a mullet wig and bragged about her big truck. It could be the 1043 times I’ve watched these new ads, but Big Save Lily seems lost without a fake blizzard of discount prices falling onto her head.

Further evidence for concern: check out her furtive hand signals as she slow-mo shuffles around her industrial warehouse. Might be a double thumbs up, might be a desperate cry for help. Is Lily being held against her will? Is that ‘SAVE ME’? scrawled over the wall? Does she need us to steer a golf cart through a giant sheet of paper and over a million sand dunes to set her free?

Because I would, Big Save Lily. I’d save you, just like you saved me fifty bucks that time I bought my coffee table.

Listen, if I want a sensible furniture ad then I’ll watch Tess McLeod sprawled over a Lazy Boy. Big Save: I need chaos, I need drama, I need an out of control golf cart hurtling towards a tower of boxes with Lily laughing maniacally at the wheel.

This new ad left me with a thousand unanswered questions and an inherent distrust of European pillows. I’m not ready to say goodbye to the legend of Big Save Lily, so let’s canter down memory lane like a pair of horses running along a beach chasing a couch-carrying tractor and relive some of Lily’s finest moments.

Lily as Super Woman

Goddess? Mortal? Who knows, but may this Lily always fly high in our memories.

Lily as a giant

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES.

Lily as a bogan

Just like her mullet, Lily was business in the front, party in the back.

Lily in a blizzard of crazy prices

Lily hooning a golf cart through the furniture warehouse and setting everything on fire

Good times, Lily. Good times.

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