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Advertising in the past

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Kandor

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It's a well known fact (or then again it may not be) that the first add ever shown on Commercial television was for 'Gibbs SR toothpaste..
I remember watching all those scratchy little adverts on our 405 lines black and white TV.
It's certainly moved on a bit since those days.
I love looking through those Douglas Alton books on Birmingham in the 30's, 40's 50's etc, mainly just to check out the innocence of the adds back then.
Most of them were really dire, sort of along the lines..'Buy Bloggs best beer or..er..umm..we'll cry if you dont'
The most famous add I can remember is, (here we go, ready?) 'When I was a Lad, I came with my Dad'...
Some television adds have of course stood the test of time, such as 'Beanz meanz Heinz' and 'Now hands that do dishes can feel soft as your face'...go on, finish it off, you know you want to. :)
Add to these the ones for Pears soap, Senior Service etc and of course the soap powder adds for Daz, Persil, Omo and Tide. all of which claimed to be the Acme of washing powders yet would without fail 6 months later launch a new improved version, the only thing being improved about it was the price.
And dirt eating Enzymes...that was a good one.
There was adds in the papers for Lesleys the jewellers (bottom of Union St) and their perpetual 'everything must go' closing down sale,
Wouldn't be allowed to get away with that these days..
Then there was the ultimate failed add..
'You are never alone with a Strand'
The problem was it portrayed the message you were some sort of sad lonely bleeder if you had to smoke them...(I smoke Strands and even my best friends hate me)
There is one I always loved and always will...
I can't remember how the original went so I've taken the trouble of making up my own...see if you can get it.

Have you ever gone out in the dead of night,
Looked around and there's no one near.
And then close by you hear a shout.
Running footsteps start to draw near.
You go into a panic..
You begin to run.... and you know the true meaning of fear.
Then a hand reaches out
And a voice starts to shout...
'Dont worry, I'm only here for the beer!'
Well...it IS Double Diamond!

Copyright and ALL royalties to go to the Home for unmarried babies. 8)
 
BEER AT HOME MEANS DAVENPORTS

YOU,LL WONDER WHERE THE YELLOW WENT WHEN YOU BRUSH YOUR TEETH WITH PEPSODENT
 
TALKING OF ADS

THE LAD IN THE WERTHERS AD NEEDS A GOOD SLAPPING

SO DOES HIS GRANDAD.

CLAIMS TO BE AN OLD PRODUCT ,, NEVER HEARD OF THEM TILL A FEW YEARS AGO .. LOAD OF OLD TOSH ..


SOME ADS ARE FUN ALTHOUGH I WONT REALLY ADMIT TO IT IN PUBLIC DOES MY INTELLECTUAL STATUS HARM


HA
 
Too right Collin, now had the advert been about Bluebird Toffees that wouldn't have been so bad would it?
 
A friend of mine auditioned for the Ansells Bitter Men (remember them?). They didn't take him on cos he rolled up :alcoholic: - honest, no joking! :shock:
 
Anybody remember the Ovaltinies. 'We are the Ovaltinies, Happy girls and boys.' It was always shown at the flicks on Saturday mornings. You could join a club and get a badge. I could never get the money for the stamp, never mind the badge.
I seem to have spent most of my time at the cinema. I got 9d a week (and two cakes) from an elderly neighbour for doing her shopping, and as I wanted to be an actress, the money went into the coffers of the Odeon.
 
mmmmmmmmmmmmm bluebird toffees If i remember right the factory was aroung halesowen or clent area ..

Cant eat toffes now pulls all me fillings out ..

so i eat mmmmmmmmmmm chocolate
 
"When I was a lad, I came with my Dad . . . . "

Can I be right that this was a jingle used by Bradshaw's of Cregoe Street on the front of trams? They had a lot of quite witty lines like this, never offensive or sarcastic like some modern advertising. One I certainly remeber went "THIS IS THE CAR for Bradshaws of Cregoe Street".
Happy New Year
Peter Walker
 
"When I was a Dad . . . "

Forget what I posted a few minutes ago. The advert was for something much more local, the HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT in Newtown Row, Aston. Many of the Perry Barr 6 Trams had the advert on the end.
The Bradshaws adverts were on the Balsal Heath and Bristol Road cars.
Sorry about that.
Peter
 
[ame="https://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kHcUwNBhvVY"]YouTube - Bisto Never in a Month of Sundays Retro 1980's TV Advert #19[/ame]
 
been raiding my brothers old newspapers and thought our members may find interest in the old ads..all the following one come from 1935

lyn
 

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Members might like to see the Austin Reed shop at around the time of this 1930s advertisement

https://www.architecture.com/image-...e-remodelled-frontage/posterid/RIBA58717.html

or alternatively the older shop during Edwardian days prior to modernisation (just as imposing I think)

https://www.architecture.com/image-...new-street-birmingham/posterid/RIBA58716.html

(You might be able to enlarge the image by extra clicking)

Some interior photos too on that website, search "Austin Reed Birmingham"

Premises situated on the corner of New Street/Cannon Street
(or next one up maybe)
 
I scanned these adverts from the British Industries Fair catalogue dated May 1949. Both companies had exhibition stands at the B.I.F. in Castle Bromwich.
turner_bros.jpg


Wilcox_and_Lines.jpg
 
Hi guys
I recall the john collier add and the music,
The ryham of john collier, john collier the window to watch and Rachel brook toplin. The shirt you do not iron
The first real colour lively advert was the singing petrol tanks tops singing OH The Esso sign means Happy motoring
Call at the Esso signs early 1900 we used to peep through trowmans house bay windows always
On one of those great Indian hot summer school holidays they would spot us a gang of kids all little ones leading through the gag at the bottom of there window and we would all scarlet back up the terrace where we lived on Lichfield road
 
I had a boy friend who worked at John Colliers about the time the ad came out and I remember the words also Astonian. I also remember the ad for the Renault Dauphine- "She gets good marks where ever she parks her Renault Dauphine." There are others: Hartley's Garden Peas are we into the pot like one, two, three. We are a happy family Hartley's Garden Peas. One more: Shippams Paste for tea to opera music.
 
Great ads Lyn, Phil and Carolina. I take it the Whiteley's furniture ads in post #2 appeared in a Birmingham paper? Whiteley's was based in Bayswater so I presume you'd have to mail order. Or maybe there was a Birmingham shop that stocked Whiteley's merchandise. Don't think there was actually a Whiteley's shop in Birmingham. The National petrol sign and Huntley and Palmers biscuits are so very familiar.

I remember my dad really rated Austin Reed clothes. He never bought many clothes but the ones he did buy were quality. Real Brook shirts were another favourite of his. I remember him having checked shirts from Van Heusen in a brushed cotton. Viv.
 
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Whenever I saw an add like this Radio Rentals one with the box at the bottom for you to send off for more information, I always filled them in. They were quite common in the 1950s and 60s. They were never sent off, just liked to flll out the details. This Radio Rentals ad offers you a free 36 page booklet - 36 pages!! Blimey they had a lot to say about it then. We had our first colour TV from RR. Buying one was too expensive, so renting was the only option. Problem was, we had a rubbish aerial so never got a great reception on the set. Now there's a word that's disappeared " TV set". Viv.

image.jpeg
 
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It's amazing what one keeps.

A 'Practical Computing' magazine from 1984...
fp1984.jpg

One advert in it for Personal Computers showed
A Tandy 4 from £1299 no colour. A 10Mb hard disk for £1545.
Ink jet printers not yet been invented, only noisy dot matrix, and daisy wheels ...
I can see one item of software Lotus123 at £357. I'm still using it ! My copy was free from a magazine CD in 1999.
1984ad3.jpg

An up-and-coming company had a two page advert for something called 'Word'.
msoft1984.jpg

Those were the days ....
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