Just after 8 pm on 22 September, 1955, British TV viewers watched actress Meg Smith brush her teeth while the authoritative voice over extolled the benefits of Gibbs SR Toothpaste, the tingling fresh toothpaste that does your gums good too. As the dramatic image of a tube of toothpaste encased in a huge block of ice appeared on the screen, the audience was enthralled. Later that evening it enjoyed a further twenty three Adverts from many old favourites, including Guinness, Brillo, Cadbury and Oxo.
This broadcast by the new Independent Television Authority (now ITV) brought to an end the eighteen year monopoly enjoyed by the BBC. In fact, BBC executives were so worried about the new competition that they chose the same night to kill off Grace Archer from the long-running radio serial, The Archers. They also encouraged claims that commercials would cause unnecessary disruption to viewers and a lowering of broadcasting standards. An advocate for the independent channel addressed these concerns, saying: We shall not be bothered by a violinist stopping in the middle of his solo to advise us of his favourite brand of cigarettes, nor indeed will Hamlet interrupt his soliloquy to tell us of the favourite brand of toothpaste used at Elsinore.
Despite the reservations, this new phenomenon proved popular with viewers although Bernard Levin commented in the Manchester Guardian the next morning: I feel neither depraved nor uplifted by what I have seencertainly the advertising has been entirely innocuous. I have already forgotten the name of the toothpaste.
Those early advertisements soon established a standard format. In a deliberate attempt to move away from American styling, familiar personalities from stage or screen would demonstrate the product in a slow and deliberate manner, often with the aid of scientific data or practical demonstrations and always to the authoritative tones of the off-screen voice over. In Time Spots, the adv ertiser could book the station clock and placed their advert either side of the time announcement. This type of advertising was soon deemed annoying and discontinued by the end of 1960.
The Admag also ran at this time. Rather like a mini drama series, each episode featured several different products and provided opportunities for smaller advertisers who could not afford their own slot. The most successful Admag, Jims Inn, ran for 300 episodes from 1957 to 1963. Set in a pub with actors Jim and Maggie Hanley as publicans, each episode had a loose story line, which cleverly wove together all the featured products.
In the 1970s advertisers moved away from a slightly patronising technique, which had previously told viewers why they should buy a product. Instead, Adverts invited us to share the aspirations and experiences of the on-screen personalities. Car manufacturers took over from where soap powder and food producers had dominated. A secret cartel agreement betwe en leading manufacturers had kept car advertising off the screen until the Japanese company, Datsun, broke the agreement and its competitors had no choice but to join them.
With the ever rising popularity of Television and the introduction of colour, some of the most enduring campaigns appeared at this time. Indeed, 1974 brought us the Cadbury Martians with their catchphrase For mash get Smash. In 1999 this advert was voted the best of the century by a panel of industry experts, for its originality and effectiveness. The decade also brought such stalwarts as, Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet, Heineken refreshes parts other beers cannot reach, and our first introduction to the Oxo family.
Cultural changes in the 1980s saw attempts to change advertising legislation, including a call for the lifting of the ban on cigarette advertising that had been in place since 1965 and a move towards advertising for the BBC. Interestingly, the BBC is still funded by the licenc e fee and the ban on tobacco commercials remains in place today. Large organisations, such as ICI, began to promote their corporate images and newspapers including The Sun and The Daily Mirror recognised the potential of an on-screen presence.
Towards the end of the twentieth century, the public remained obsessed by Television ad breaks, a fact not missed by undertakers, charities and religious institutions when a ban on their advertisements was finally lifted. Advances in technology brought the first interactive advert for a Mazda car. Viewers were prompted to video record the advert and play it back frame by frame to uncover details of a competition to win a new car. Other campaigns involved switching channels to see different outcomes to the same story.
The advent of digital Television is likely to bring ever more ingenious gimmicks to our screens in the future while concerns about their influence on our lifestyles and values will remain. However we regard Tel evision advertising, there is no doubt that it has influenced us all to some degree. After all, catch phrases such as Beanz Meanz Heinz and Snap, Crackle and Pop have now become permanent fixtures in popular British culture.
Louise Dop is a successful freelance writer and technical author. Her ebook, The Writer's Secret Weapon, brings together a collection of the best free online resources for writers and gives an insight into the writing life. With over 50 direct links to resources, this straightforward guide will show you the real-life tips and tricks that armed with an Internet connection and basic computer literacy you can try for yourself right away.
Author:: Louise Dop
Keywords:: TV, Television, Adverts, commercial TV, ITV, independent broadcasting
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