UK TV Adverts - 1979, 1981 and 1983

[Sres1]

The Halifax advert lol,

the only thing that they insist on is that you take out more than you put in.

They did that all right :)

[caxtonman]

Have you noticed how many adverts there were for banks or insurance in this sequence compared to what they brainwash you with now?

[kerensasdad]

Ah the days when Walkers Crisps had more than 5 crisps in a bag!

[TheRazorbladesmile]

VERY young Gryff Rhys Jones in the last Ad

[TheRazorbladesmile]

Dunno how good that John Bull stuff was but it looked like a proper pint, pity you don't see the mugs anymore, would hate to get clattered with one I know that!

[vania1013]

the orignal del monte man was an ex gestapo sun did an expose in the early 80's

[themachman19691]

@vania1013 must be true if it was in the sun.....not.

[vania1013]

@themachman19691

i looked it up he died protesting he waqs not a guard but aworker guess we will never know

[2008Sameoldfitup]

roy west

[caxtonman]

Did you spot PC Quinan (aka Andrew Paul) in the Bovril stock cubes Advert?

[alanlovedog]

i used silkience as a kid!

[lookingintothepast]

When I became an advertising sales rep for a large magazine company the companymobile for trainee reps was a Ford Escort.I remember being green with envy when a colleague left to get a job with newly launched Channel 4 and was given a Renault Fuego. It's also interesting that 25 years on it wasn't the John Bull beer kit that put pubs out of business but supermarkets selling cheap booze

[myquiter]

Is that Alan Bennett doing the voice-over for the biscuit ad?

[DidaDragan]

@myquiter

I think it was actually Colin Jeavons (the actor in the commercial) but he was speaking in Alan Bennet's style

[tonyregan021177]

John Bull didnt but Gordon Brown did!!

[moondog102]

When you look at these adverts today you can see easily what a crock of shit they were trying to flog you.

[markfury3000]

Julia Roberts from QVC at 7:54 in the Woolwich ad!

[gallafey]

does anyone out recall an advert which was spoof on the The Incredible Hulk, a man comes into the dining room and wife puts his tea on the table & he stars to hulk out & smashes up the table does anyone remember that, I think it was advertising Paxo

[darkdubh]

@gallafey Yes i remember that ad,i it was for paxo.I loved the bit where he smashed the table in slow motion.It would have been on about 1979 or thereabouts.

[blazer666del]

That TV from 375 in 1983! thats nearly 1000 quid in today's money!! (inflation) WOW

[hideawaycottage]

Renault Fuego, oh yeah, I remember those, utter garbage rust buckets, well, a typical French car really ......

[SuperTruth77]

What John Bull couldn't achieve, the smoking ban did...

[PROTEK123]

Oracle lol the internet of the 80s

[GenericEmotions]

good to see that Halifax Building Society were a bunch of lying cunts 30 years ago same as they are today.

[bugsbunny2022]

@GenericEmotions That was the days when you could get 8% interest a year. Now you are lucky if you get 0.8%. Lying cunts? Thieving cunts more like.

[Incognito1986]

That "Teletext" TV seemed to a precursor to the Internet!

[marts500]

I know that voice over behind the Rowenta ad but can't place him...anyone know...?

[dangale]

@marts500 Sounds like Robert Powell.

[marts500]

i remember the Renault Fuego...every one a pup.

[jared1971]

The guys are all people out of the film 'Scum'.

[dominicrusho]

Wilsmlow!! I live there!!! Hahaha...don't think there's a Renault garage on station road now. Think it's now a Jaguar garage.

[Chanesmyname]

8p a pint.

[kezadrone]

Alan Bennit. Boring basterd.

[arizonabay15]

@kezadrone Yes, but he can spell.

[bibbyg]

steel works and milkmen? ah a blast from the past... It shouldn't be but it is!

[Sloney1969]

John Bull.... So good it could put the pubs out of business.... No it didn't we had to wait until 1997 and the labour govenment put the pub trade out of business within 13 years....

[mrcrisp24k]

HAHA

We had one of those Rowenta irons and it did in fact last for years!

[mistofoles]

That's gotta be James Bolam narrating the milk advert!

[mistofoles]

Hey, didn't that guy in the McvIties advert play "Solly Atwell", the bent lawyer in the 4th series of ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES?

[Matty112uk]

Great ads!

[costellodan]

Walkers advert was a bit violent. lol.

[jimjams91]

OMG! The ITV Granada -- 6 October 1981 starting with the McVities Homewheat is over 5 and a half mins LONG! Imagine that today! No chance! HAHA Colour TV then is like HD TV now!

[jimjams91]

These adverts are rather 80s cheesy, but I like the home spirit they have. Modern ads are crap and try to cater internationally too much, whilst shaing time with lame insurance ads. We should be showing other countries our homepride!

[b6gm6n]

in those days..."Walkers crisps... when you fancy something really..." fatty salty and boring... home drinking? that advert would be illegal now (John Bull) it's a drug you see... not a drink, usually counts for every beaten wife, child broken home... smoking ban put pubs outta business with Tescos charging next to nothing for masses amounts of booze, teletext news : income tax abolished, the tax given to the bankers from you lot to pay for government lending from banks for "usury" nothings new

[jaketaylor15]

so im guessing that john bull home beer had some bad ingredients in it ? did it get banned from being made ?

[Hemsy19]

They still make them now

[youweechube]

@b6gm6n you sound a cheery chap !

[salfexile]

Teletext on ITV, gone forever.

[Concreteowl]

Tpfff! When we still had industry and milk floats to fuel them.

[nct26]

That wallpaper one for Crown finese at c.5.00 is utterly shite! Good times!

[kazzafar]

ere! ere!

[mrdwonderfull]

Great post, ahhh those were the days, lol!

[jckchrstphr]

Love KerryGold butter. The Irish make good butter. Typical US butter isn't good.

[Spriggangirl]

@jckchrstphr

Not all American butters taste that good. There are some that are delicious and some that are disgusting.

I don't blame ya.

[koksy]

Does anybody remember adverts on TV around this time for humongous microwaves and kitchen equipment made by some company called "Tappan"? I seem to remember it was all orchestral music to them or something.... Or is my memory deluding me?

[JonnoGM]

Such memories - definitely agree about the castrol GTX advert ~ As soon as I saw that I was back being about 10 years old doing homework.

Damn life was simple then.

[PM1970]

I agree with you - all ads were mostly home orientated - nowadays you're bombarded with endless insurance ads and the commercials are so long and tedious and leave you forgetting what programme you were watching - Castrol GTX, I remember that ad just like yesterday :)

[MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMeAndU]

The iron can use water straight from the tap! Could other irons only use water that had been distilled for 100 years in huge vats or something?

[chinapig71]

@MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMeAndU - no they had some sort of valve that prevented spillage and that made it a bugger to fill it took about 3 days and needed a funnel, a jug and a steady hand.

[MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMeAndU]

Bovril cubes must have gone downhill coz 30 years ago they (according to the ad) crumbled really easily. Everytime i crumble one now they stick to my fingers like f**king super glue.

[MegaDave1973]

does anybody have the 1983 bio tex advert the song was a classic

[thaibox07]

why do i get a warm feeling watching these adverts it must be the fact that adverts were actually more entertaining in past years ...and the adverts are remembered...castrol gtx liquid engineering

[knobrot1980]

wsa that pc stamp on the oxo ad 3.28

[FRANKIESHANOWSKIY2K0]

yes both oracle and ceefax was the

internet service of the era where it was usefull for keeping up with news and events and gives you both tv and cinema listings and competitions and still going strong today.

frankie smales

(retro tv advert fan)

[sptol]

Isnt it mad how ads in them days made most of us go out and buy half the shit they were selling Oracle and Ceefax proper blasts from the past a few famous faces Gwyneth Powell, Andrew Paul, Ian Ogilvy and some late great stars like Kenny Everett, Paul Eddington and John Comer ( Sid from Last Of The Summer Wine) Loved the Mahler music from Castrol GTX and still do so many memories better days thru bleaker times

[Leight1965]

The man from Sodexo,he say yessssssssss too......lol ;)

[hepstick]

"Milk's there forst thing". Thanks for the memories!

[terawattz]

at 3mins 30 sec bovril ad did i see pc dave quinan from the bill.

[tonightwefly]

yea it is, he must of been about 20 there!

[dymond9999]

Oracle! What a blast from the past.

[darganx]

Isn't that Mrs McCluskey serving that Cheese Hotpot for 'Daddy'?

[jwood36]

It looked like her to me alright

[mygodlesslife]

@darganx Yup.

[UKArchiveTV]

Heh the hair advert showing off the science isn't much different from today

[bthomehub2]

Too true - that's exactly what I thought when I saw it!

[KaitainCPS]

I think it's that the dandruff is getting worse. Without continually-improving dandruff technology, we'd all be swimming in a sea of white flakes.

[bthomehub2]

Too true - it'd be like snow, disgustingly enough ;) lol

[joannegreenjordan]

Aww the memories :) i live in australia now and they charge 3 times the price for food n stuff from the uk.

[buckeejit73]

i always thought the castrol GTX ad sounds as tho it shouldve been used at the start of a Superman movie.

classic!! page 555 on c4 on Ceefax was the best, jokes and shit!!! christ how the memories start to invade!!

[mistofoles]

OK, can someone please explain to me how to convert old VHS cassettes into a format you can upload on here???

[UKArchiveTV]

You'll need something like a capture device on your PC (an internal card or an external box) or alternatively a DVD recorder to archive your tapes, from where you can rip to PC. Hit Google and you'll find plenty of explanations. You'll need to spend a bit of money.

[mistofoles]

Thanks, I've seen a piece of equipment called a "VHS/DVD CONVERTOR"..apparently you plug one end into the VCR, and the other end into your PC, and it records the tape onto a disc or something, but it's £39.99!!..is thtis what you mean??

[mistofoles]

Hey, didn't the guy in the Del Monte advert used to play the waiter in "DUTY FREE"??

[mrslmathers]

Yes, that was Carlos Douglas indeed (catchphrase: "Ooh 'ello!')!

[creon5]

bet that john bull beer in a can is revolting lol

[NikkiClo]

Aww the milk ad makes you feel all cosy

[wellohmeeeeeee]

£375 for teletext...good grief !!

[flametop93]

FROM £375!!! The cheapest then! With an "average delay of 20 seconds!" We used to call it GAGFAX as it was such a joke . . .

[videovac]

I would love one of those hitachi hoovers

[carriebuk]

The vacuum one was funny - my dyson these days would suck up those teddies and the curtains :D nice to see some familiar actors!

[ah1701]

hehehe Castrol GTX - liquid engineering! I think that clip of the oil drop running down the can and going into the spanner, plus BP's tiger have to be some of the most memorable ads of the era...

[flametop93]

Yes, used to adore the music as a kid - still sounds great now!

[draven26]

A Welder in a Shipyardlol shows how dated the ads are. Who knew of the years of Thatcher devastation to come

[welchm8]

Interesting to see old British commercials. As a Yank I haven't heard of many of these actors mentioned, but I did immediately recognize Paul Eddington--MP (and later PM) Jim Hacker of "Yes Minister" fame.

[soboneidol]

well spotted! he was a real comedy marvel as Jim Hacker.

[Sessiongirl]

The Shredded Wheat jingle was sung by Tony Burrows.

[pigspiss]

shredded wheat is bloody awful..it tastes like straw...

[darthmagnum]

Totally agree, the worst cereal ever invented. How did they ever get away with it?

[soboneidol]

that's because it IS straw. youtube tip of the day- try hot milk and sugar on it, a HUGE improvement :)

[cultcheese]

I have never heard of the Renault car in the clip

Was that Todd Carty driving the car in the Shredded Wheat ad?

[davidmcn]

Nah, that's not Todd Carty. He'd be a bit too young to be passing his test in 1979 anyway, given he was only in about 2nd year at Grange Hill at the time.

[mygodlesslife]

@cultcheese But it is Mrs McCluskey in the cheese advert!

[justaukman]

im with you mate ??? the renault fuego ??? never heard of it lol , might try that baby on ebay lmao ...

[plasticspastic201]

@cultcheese not todd carty but its mrs friggen mcklusky in the cheese ad at 3 minutes in

[GBCOne]

Is that Ian "The Saint" Ogilvy as the mystery man in the Woolwich ad? The woman at the end of the ad is Julia Roberts. No, not that one.

[Perranporth]

Even in the early 80s it wasn't television, it was COLOUR television!

[jimmy001977]

Yes it is PC dave quinnon from the Bill and he was also in the film Scum

[thanxx]

3:29 in, isnt that PC dave quinnon from out of the bill>???

[logom0]

Seems like a different world now...

[GR8M8108]

I was sufing old ads as I live in USA now, and was feeling nostalgiac. Found Finola Hughes of American Soap opera and 'How do I look' fame dancing in the Finesse wallpaper ad! (around 5:00). Thanks for the memories and for seeing a youthful Finola.

[terryvision42]

wasn't that mrs mcluskey headmaster from grange hill in the cheddar chesse advert?

[jasetheaceukuk]

Hi, yes it was Mrs Mcluskey!

[districtline]

hehe...Colin Jeavons in the McVities Homewheat...

[RoadCone411]

SPPOOOOONNS!

[districtline]

Are you thinking of Bernard Cribbins mate?

[RoadCone411]

Whoops!

Yes I am! Sorry! Nothing like getting a bad joke wrong!

Bernard Cribbins and Colin Jeavons... I should know better and think before I post!

[caxtonman]

Was that PC Quinan from the Bill in the Bovril Cubes advert??

[bazariah]

lol im watching these ad's and they seem extremely cheesy today, but they are so much better than the copious amounts of bingo, loans and insurance ads on tv now

[RoadCone411]

I know what you mean, but growing up these ads makes me feel somewhat comfortable seeing them, as if it reminds me of a time gone by. The world seemed a simpler, happier place then, but perhaps that is simplifying it too much. But there is definitely an emphasis on home and family life - where are those ads today? My goodness, I remember when Walkers crisps looked like that..!

[yenvalum]

thanx for the memories

[weekendoff]

Haha, is that Andrew Paul from the bill I spot on the Bovril ad?

great upload, many thanks!

[alritedarlin]

I am amazed to find that I also remember almost every ad as I watch. It also makes me feel old! Life's precious. Goes in the bat of an eye.

[thecheesepriest]

1983 was the first year that Walker's Crisps were advertised on TV, I think. Mike S.

[j43ms]

good old james bolam- "howay man, put milk forst, like"!

[djugly]

Cor, it makes me want to sit in a wintry house in front of t'fire, drinking milk, eating butter and cheese and watching Oracle. Wholesome.

[RoadCone411]

A lot of "going home" adverts - cheese, milk, kerrygold butter, bovril cubes - all about being home and the goodness of family.

[agfagaevart]

"It'a always nice to go home..." unless you live in the inner cities where there are stabbings everyday. Feral youths on the streets, but no police. Or you're single and don't have a wife or husband to cook hot meals waiting for you on the table...|Heh heh. Cynical? Me? How times have changed.

[caxtonman]

Makes me feel old......!!

[chez1807]

Oh my goodness, what a blast from the past! I remember almost every one.

[TheVampiress666]

I remember having a remote control that was plugged in to the telly, pretty useless really as the wire was only about 2 foot long so you could reach the tv to switch over anyway so I made my own 'wireless remote' out of a bamboo garden cane with a pointy thing sellotaped to the end....... dont know why it never caught on!

[cypruschick]

Those were the days when teletext and remote controls were considered luxurious! :0)

[typhilitis]

How much for a colour TV with teletext?????

[dtumahtsew]

great days

[RoadCone411]

People who owned Hillman Avengers must have eaten a lot of Shredded Wheat!

Where's the Honey Nut Shredded Wheat??!

[phanface]

If I didn't know better, I'd say they just dropped some breakfast bars into a bowl and poured milk over them!

Speaking of which, I rather liked the milk advert.

[Xxfancythat79xX]

THe guy in the bovril advert was in Bugsy Malone and used to be in The Bill!

[Xxfancythat79xX]

how big is that iron?? lol

[weekendoff]

brilliant.

thanks so much for the upload I really enjoyed this.

[mrslmathers]

LOL - remember when Oracle was cutting edge!!

Those ads are sooo much better than the crud we see today.

Like the Kenny Everette Yellow pages one.

[agfagaevart]

As I recall, those Yellow Pages ads used various 'stars' doing VO for the hands.

[henrycrumm]

LMAO gets rid of laura's dandruff without getting rid of the shine..

[waderm810]

oh these were the days!

[piecesdontfit]

so fun! walkers crisps packets :O , and halifax hav always had corny adverts! except the music has got worse and the cross bigger!

[jimjams91]

The corny ads seem to work though eh?

[sashasquashi]

Thankyou for posting these, I found the Walkers ad hilarious, and some good nostalgic ads as well!

[bucksby]

Brilliant posting. I especially liked the Pye TV ad with Paul Eddington, I can't believe how old fashioned those sets are!