PG Tips UK Commercial (c.1971)

[TheDAVIDASHAW]

cooeeee Mister Shifter.

[chudjackson]

I'd buy anything a chimp in a hat advertises.

[Primus2X]

Stephen Fry's Planet Word brought me here

[leviethen]

i cant believe carl pilkington actually thought those monkeys were real removal men lol

[OKwoteva1]

I've quoted the last two lines of this ad' to my sons for over 30 years, wait 'til they see this! The PG Tips ad's were some of the funniest and memorable of those times, thanks for sharing. And before anyone gets all pc and uppity, yes it was animal exploitation, but it was long before we realised how unsavoury it was, and no worse than the Chimps tea party on Zoo Time every Friday. They were treated well as they were in the public eye, but I'm pleased they don't use chimps like this any more.

[dariowestern]

@OKwoteva1 they weren't hurt or injured like animals are in slaughterhouses and circuses. I don't think there's anything wrong with ads like this - we need more of them. Screw political correctness!

[whitbyjet65]

She calls him Mr Shitter @ 0:10

[MuseOfTheWest]

I boycotted PG Tips for over 20 years because of these ads. I'm glad to say that since they stopped this distasteful anthropomorphism I have relented and a box of their teabags stands in my kitchen. Such a pity because their tea is rather good. I expect they treated the chimps well but I plain disliked the ad. I also boycott any product whose ad. includes messy eating or slurping, because I don't wish to encourage them.

[gilsenar]

@MuseOfTheWest nothing distasteful at all about chips portraying humanlike activities .the adverts were highly amusing. surly you are aware that chimps in the wild show human traits like using a stick like a tool to poke things for 1 and their facial expressions.. i dont believe that they were treated bad or forcefully in the making of this if they were then i certainly would object to the ads

[colmalbar]

@MuseOfTheWest Do you eat meat?

[MuseOfTheWest]

@colmalbar Oh yes for sure I eat meat and always have. Not chimpanzee meat, though, because they are too close to us genetically and that would be too much like cannibalism. I just find this kind of ad. annoying. I'm not alone because animal acts in circuses are disappearing fast. I object on grounds of taste rather than animal rights. I objected even more to the slurping than the chimps and boycotted Quorn for years purely on slurping grounds.

[AnitaCheesecake]

@MuseOfTheWest jesus christ what a pussy and a faggot you are. lol

[Zod101276]

@MuseOfTheWest Your tv must be off all the time then with all the provocative traits now days

[bensimps123]

karl pilkington likes this

[TheJboy88]

If they ever bring these character back they'd better not replace them with CGI chimps or there'll be hell to pay.

[tomcrowmike]

Animal rights, cruelty, electric prods. Load of bollocks. They did a documentary on the adverts not long back, and the entire crew had to work around the chimps' "demands". The dad refused to play the fake piano because it didn't make noise so they had to buy him a real one.

[modernwarfaregal]

which is better tetley or PG tips?

[STEPASAUR]

"Coo-eeey mister shifterr like refreshment?" hahaha Irene Handl what a legend!

[heehawluck1]

@Scullnblades LOL.......Bollox. LOL

[gezstimpson]

Best advert ever, I remember it so well. My Dad owned a removal firm and we used to call him Mr Shifter after this advert.

[rjb773]

Chimpanzees smile when their scared or intimdated like at 0.25, their probably doing it in this video because the owner is behind the camera. People misconceive it as them being happy its not, probably why these adverts got banned.

[unclemort1960]

@leonaofficial perhaps they never had EQUITY cards

[eddie071]

I find this funny because the year is stated as 1971, yet the Dad chimpanzee looks like he's dressed like Alex from A Clockwork Orange which was about that time. Does anyone else think this?

[bigcno1]

Fuckin masterpiece !!!!! I remember this so well !!!!!! Did any of these chimps

star in BJ and the Bear ?????? Did Michael Jackson molest any off them ????

[fodsaks]

A Masterpiece.

[powerform1]

Made my day ... Haven't seem that for years .... Showed my daughter ... She asked why I always say . Tea Mr shifter to my wife .. Haha now she gets it .. Thanks

[peteftwomg]

I was born in 1991 but i remember them from when i was very young.... why did they dissapear? Animal cruelty orrr???

[pompeypirate]

It's the taste!

[MsJackieLee]

I remember seeing this commercial as if it were yesterday, especially that line, Dad, do you know the piano's on my foot, I laughed my heart out. Just a brilliant piece of writing. Why aren't commercials as funny nowaday's they are now so unmemorable.

Jackie Lee.

[1CasuConsulto]

PG Tips, Lipton, Lyons test their tea benefits on animals. Rabbits who were abused in deadly tea tests were forced to eat fatty and cholesterol-laden foods until they suffered from extremely high cholesterol levels and severe hardening of the arteries . They were then given green tea to see if it would have any beneficial effect

[JulesClay92]

@1CasuConsulto did it work doe?

[spongebot64]

Sorry, I accidentally pressed the Spam button, but i went off it and I am terribly sorry if it is submitted.

[chaoslab]

Awesomely good'o'blast from the past :-)

[priceshagger]

Absolutely priceless. lol

[stingosaka]

English guy living in japan.. I recently heard that some Japanese company wants to make the PG Tips Chimps popular again. They also made homepride's Fred character famous a few years ago...

[TheCrazyasswhiteboys]

U hum it sun and I'll play it. I've shifted more pianos than you've had hot dinners. Priceless

[hitlersinmyhouse]

why do people in the 60s and 70s speak like that

[RiKK331]

Dad! Do you know its cruel and immoral to dress chimpanzees up in human clothing and force them to be filmed?! You hum it son Ill play it...

[royalcourtier]

I don't know when this particular advert first came out in the UK, but I remember it on New Zealand TV much later, probably in the mid 1980's.

[Rachiejane1]

@royalcourtier It was in New Zealand too? That's great! Classic ad

[scobiedog1]

cooee.......coooeee, Mr shifter...hilarious, reminds me of my nan!

[SirLangsalot]

This is Karl Pilkington's favourite TV commercial.

[bigcherry99]

the narrator sounds like richard dawkins

[mikemasterton]

These are still brilliant,better than the programmes then & now.

I drink PG because of them.

Everyone a belly laugh.

[girlsaloudrx]

aww silly monkeys

[Gettinbuzz]

I didn't know my family had been on TV before I was born

[ragandshag]

great ad why we not have them now :(

[maskofme]

I'm looking for an old Tip Top add, pre-Rachel Hunter, for Tiptop Trumpets, on the old school bus, with "Roger Fitch"

Also, the HP Sauce "Makes beef sing" ad......

[Ryaaan001]

@maskofme ITS ROGER PHIPPS!!!

[cyberman360]

One way of shiftin it LOL epic win

[penutsonfire]

0:07 penis?

[superagurihyperteam]

@penutsonfire pianos

[vagabondicus]

Them was great days, them.

[derangedband]

haha! thats a good advert :D

[tonymontana1974]

@AlRasuwl Did they make the chimpanzees have a knife fight at the end of the day and put bets on who was going to survive ? i have heard this rumour a lot donno if its true or not.

[TheRationalizer]

It is untrue.

The chimps were from Twycross zoo. The owner (Molly) accompanied them each day, she loved them very much and would not have permitted it.

They just used to let them dress up and play, they would later construct an advert story from the resulting footage.

[musicbill101]

!971? It took about 10 years before that ad appeared on TV in New Zealand in the early eighties!

[Silkie341]

Little bit of trivia. They got them to make those mouth movements by putting peanut butter on the roof of their mouths. Exactly the same method used on the 'presenters' for the BBC's 'The One' show.

[edwatom]

OOOOOOHHH Chimpanzee that!

[robpri]

classic chimp ad, nasty little buggers though.

[steveallen808909]

i dont  drink pg tips anymore cause they stopped these adverts did somebody find them offensive?

[johnmik67]

If I remember hearing right when I was still in England after a while they had to put all the chimps down. For what reason I don't know!

[Pitcairn2]

@johnmik67

Cos they were caught drinking Typhoo.

[Ramble1212]

That shit is chim-pan-CRAZY.

[Dedokai32]

Lol i just crushed my son with the piano, lets go and have a cuppa

[marccox08]

Dad, d'you the piano's on mah foot?

lol

[kisbie]

Jimmy Carr: "And that is also how they make Hollyoaks."

[lazydays11]

tastes like piss !!!!!!

[Ryan4326]

great

[Nerwik]

Anyone can post here what exactl'y thos emonkey r saying ? Would be cool ^^

[ELGROOVER]

"Getting the hang of it? Mind the banisters Son."

"Ooh, I can't hold it Dad!"

"Don't worry Son, I've shifted more pianos than you've had hot dinners."

"Cooee, cooee Mr. Shifter. Light refreshment."

"Thank you most kindly Madam."

"Oh my..!!"

"One way of shifting it."

"Dad, do you know the piano's on my foot?"

"You hum it Son, I'll play it." ♪♫....♪♫...

[Nerwik]

Thanks :)

[tinatoona]

Brillian, Brilliant, Brilliant...this one is a classic.

I remember when it came out and I am still LMAO !

I tell everyone about it...I'am crazy over British humor...coz I'm a crazy Brit living in the USA !

[Dantheman199308]

These lovely chimps were from a zoo very close to where i live (Twycross Zoo) in the chimp enclosure there are plaques on the wall with some information about the chimps which is quite interesting.

[PeteG80]

Yeah Twycross!!! Im also from Leicestershire. What was the old lady's name that trained them?

[Dantheman199308]

I come from polesworth in Warwickshire, my nan and grandad live in Austrey (staffordshire) so we live close to the zoo...

The zoo was founded in 1963 by Molly Badham and Nathalie Evans.

[OofusTwillip]

Actually, it was John Junkin who voiced Mr. Shifter (Dad) in this and other PG Tips commercials. This is mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records listing for this commercial (the longest running one on television), and in Junkin's obituaries. John Junkin died in 2006, of lung cancer.

[Jimmyhowudoin]

dad dad the pianos on my foot dad

don't worry son u hum it i'll play it

[Eztoez]

One of my all time favourite adverts. Brilliant !

[theeddielang]

ah we got to get the chimps back on TV...can't do a worse job than the monkeys running the world these days/.

[TimeChristis]

Karl Pilkington told me of this, of course according to him this all actually happened and the monkeys picked the tea themselves.

[spartan2600]

they were kicked out, however, when the chimp tried it on with the man's wife.

[spartan2600]

"At least when we were shiftin' piano's down stairs we weren't gettin' a club on the 'ed."

[scarboroughkid101]

apparently the guy who made this advert had the idea after seeing laurel & hardy film where they move the piano up the steps, hence the bowler hat.

[originof8]

Down with chimps used in entertainment.. please...WATCH MY VIDEO _____Fall Out Boy, Thanks For The Memories - REMIX -

poor monkeys ;

[danfearn]

these adverts were voted most popular advertising characters of all time, it only stopped due to a small minoruty of animal rights complainers. Political Correctness wins again

[pamdram]

Ah, they don't make em like that any more! :)

[Backintown2]

another great advert

[donthompson10166]

dad .. do you know the piano is on my foot .... it took years before the penny dropped! what a brill advert

[Elley1992]

I absolutley loved this when i was little =]

[nikkblack]

hahahahahahaahahahahahahahahah­a rofl

[limeyosu]

she sounds so familer like effil in eastenders

[kiwiclog]

i reckon, but why can i not find the workshop ad?

[gamma500]

still funny....

[elperropatron]

It's amazing what passes for humor with these crumpet crunchers

[MentalMaladies]

Wow, I didn't realise this kind of retardation was still around.

This is a fantastic nostalgic ad. Thanks for uploading!

[youngcharlie36]

english ad, Aussie actors hahahaha

[flakelorenz02]

Eh the're cockney?

[youngcharlie36]

It is an insult towards aussies, abit of gentle rubbing

[scaresdale]

Nah there to good to be aussies

[pljms]

Of course the PC brigade will hate it but there's no denying that it's totally ingenious.

[YoungKauri]

I so fucking love this.

[timofrey]

you hum it son and I'll smash your face in.

[DanReborn]

why isnt it playing? its just got somr thing spinning in the middle of the screen :(

[kingdaniel69]

Apparently the chimp refused to play in the when they filmed because he'd been trained on a real piano and this one had no innards! They had to really bribe him.

[phdtourist127]

I agree,a classic thanks for posting.

[rigel5]

Classic advert! I love the young fellow's ginger wig! Pure genius who ever thought this ad up!

[AlwaysGutom]

your welcome

[leesbet]

always makes me laugh.. as the piano greases down the staircase.... then the finale...---> "dad d'know the pianos on my foot" ... "you hum it son and I'll play it"... A classic..