What did the Romans ever do for ads?

Given that it's one year since the TikTok Roman Empire trend revealed that men (in particular) spend a large amount of time thinking about the Roman Empire, and with Ridley Scott's much-anticipated Gladiator II due for release in November, recognised by Pepsi's new 'Make Your Gameplay Epic' campaign, we take a look at how ancient Rome continues to influence ads to this day.

Even non-scholars of Rome will be familiar with the Coliseum (more accurately named the Colosseum), which was constructed by the Flavian dynasty of Emperors as a place for entertainment with gladiatorial contests, hunts and battle reenactments.

As one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was also perhaps a logical place for CHI & Partners (now known as T&Pm) to recreate for the launch of Samsung's curved UHD TV.

As gladiators file out of the gates of the Colosseum, a father and young son, in a dressing gown and a onesie, appear in the centre of the action.

After a "thumbs down" from the watching Emperor, the gladiators charge at the pair, but before they get too close it is revealed that the man and boy are just watching the action on a UHD television. A voiceover then kicks in, describing the product.

Rome's epic architecture was also the feature of this spot for Amazon Business by Joint. It e-imagines the classic tale of Romulus founding Rome in 753 BCE – only this time he has the luxury of an Amazon Business account to do the heavy lifting.

It's not clear why Romulus is dressed as a Roman soldier - but it doesn't really matter compared to the depiction of Julius Caesar as a tech-savvy homeowner in Checkatrade's historically inaccurate and low-budget effort.

The spot begins with him making a salad in his kitchen, before greeting good friend Brutus at his front door. However, Brutus’ attempts at treachery (by recommending a butcher to do a plumber’s job) are quickly quashed by the Roman Emperor (who wasn't actually an Emperor), who instead finds the right person for the job through Checkatrade.

The pair finish with an impromptu and inexplicable dance in a suburban garden, and we can only be grateful that the writers of the ad managed to resist using the line: "Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me". Fortunately Checkatrade has recently hired St Luke's to turbocharge its marketing efforts.

A rather more sophisticated effort came in 2004 -it even warranted a premiere in Trafalgar Square.

The epic spot featured Britney Spears, Beyonce and Pink as gladiators (in skimpy armour) and Enrique Iglesias as an evil Roman Emperor reminiscent of Joaquin Phoenix in the 2000 film Gladiator.

The three women refuse to fight each other in favour of dethroning the Iglesias in order to redistribute his wealth (cans of Pepsi) all whilst singing Queen's We Will Rock You.

And finally.... Rome's place in the great swoop of worldwide civilization was celebrated in this ad for Carlsberg created by Fold7.

'The best things come to the curious' features a 40-second film that takes viewers on a trip through time, from a swanky bar during the jazz age, an 18th-century music recital, a troop of dancing Romans, a field where a shepherd is playing the flute and ending with cave full of whistling cavepeople.

The various time periods depicted have different versions of the soundtrack The 900 Number by The 45 King depending on the era.

Much as Rome occupies the thoughts of men, it also continues to be a fascination for some advertisers and agencies. Decline and Fall? It seems that Edward Gibbon got that very wrong.