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Animated Ads

British animation won great success as an entertainer, but it has long had a lucrative second career in sales

In cinemas and on TV, animated adverts have frequently outshone the main attraction. In the early days of the cinema, animated ads were often relative epics, with five-minute comic encounters leading to a pack-shot punchline. The arrival of commercial television in 1955 brought the animated ad down to bite-size, but if anything they packed an even harder punch. Advertisers found that animation could soften the edges of a hard sell approach, and bring cartoon brand characters to life.

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Love on the RangeLove on the Range

Advert 1939 6 mins

An animated Western mock-opera about Horlicks? Bring it on!

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Your Shopping GuideYour Shopping Guide

Advert 1930 5 minsSilent

Lingerie, wallpaper, garages - there's something on offer for everyone in these lo-fi local cinema ads from Darlington

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Air to WearAir to Wear

Advert 1957 2 minsSilent

As full of holes as his Aertex shirt, Uncle Jeff’s tall tales are captured in crayon in this animated cinema ad

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Molar MischiefMolar Mischief

Advert 1946 2 mins

Look out, germs at work! These loveable molar mischief making puppets really dig tooth decay.

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Ovaltine - TrainOvaltine - Train

Advert 1985 1 mins

Ovaltina will pick you up! With an electronic 80s synth and a catchy theme tune, Ovaltina parachutes in to save the day

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Dolly Put the Kettle OnDolly Put the Kettle On

Advert 1947 2 mins

A spurned doll turns knife-wielding femme fatale when she doesn't get her teddy bear, in this cartoon cinema ad for tea

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Cadbury's Star BarCadbury's Star Bar

Advert 1979 0 mins

An animated spaceman finds a Star Bar which gives him an energy boost.

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Mousewife's ChoiceMousewife's Choice

Advert 1948 2 mins

An animated ‘mousewife’ finding a way to ease her washing day woes may not be very progressive, but it's delightfully sweet.

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Fable of the FabricsFable of the Fabrics

Advert 1942 6 mins

"Gee, old age!" Malicious Father Time doesn't stand a chance against a cartoon cupid armed with a big box of washing powder.

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South Sea SweetheartsSouth Sea Sweethearts

Advert 1938 6 mins

Say aloha to a Technicolor cinema ad for Horlicks from the master of the Puppetoon, George Pal

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Silver LiningSilver Lining

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1947 1 mins

Bread today and jam tomorrow? Cheerful puppet cartoon with a catchy song sweetens the pill of post-war austerity.

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Lyons Maid Lolly Gobble Choc BombLyons Maid Lolly Gobble Choc Bomb

Advert 1974 0 mins

Animated advert for the much loved strawberry ice lolly, with chocolate and sugar balls and a chocolate bar inside!

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Put Una Money for TherePut Una Money for There

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1956 3 mins

Barclays advise West African farmers where to keep their money via a catchy song and crisp modern cartoon design.

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The Right SpiritThe Right Spirit

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1931 9 mins

Don’t judge a book by its cover but do judge a political party by its garage in this Conservative cartoon from the height of the depression.

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Flu-ing SquadFlu-ing Squad

Advert 1951 2 mins

Anthropomorphic houses pop pills to defeat colds in this cartoon cinema commercial

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Looking AheadLooking Ahead

Advert 1930 2 minsSilent

Behold the future! Where meals are consumed in pill form, and hankies are washed on television

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Mr.........Goes MotoringMr.........Goes Motoring

Advert 1925 3 minsSilent

Deceptively simple early animated ad for Shell petrol

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What-ho-she-bumpsWhat-ho-she-bumps

Advert 1937 7 mins

Puppet pirates pray on the sleeping Navy: the crew of HMS Hopeless pay the price of night starvation in this 1930s Horlicks ad.

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Brooke Bond D: Tea PartyBrooke Bond D: Tea Party

Advert 1977 1 minsSilent

If your afternoon tea sessions with the vicar's wife need enlivening, take the animated advice of this cultured cup and saucer.

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Train TroubleTrain Trouble

Advert 1946 3 mins

Who knew so much was riding on a squirrel's breakfast?

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Branston Pickle: Advertising AgencyBranston Pickle: Advertising Agency

Advert 1957 0 mins

15 seconds isn't long, you've got to say Crosse and you've got to say Blackwell, and you've got to say Branston Pickle!

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Lyons Maid Vanilla - 2p OffLyons Maid Vanilla - 2p Off

Advert 1975 0 mins

Three children stamp the ice cream packs with a "2p off" stamp. Look out for the special packs!

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The Boy Who Wanted to Make PicturesThe Boy Who Wanted to Make Pictures

Advert 1924 4 minsSilent

Kodak pocket cameras provide the perfect substitute for a budding portrait artist in this early advert based on the drawings of Harold Bateman.

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Shippam's Guide to OperaShippam's Guide to Opera

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1955 2 mins

Charming fish paste cinema ad

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Babycham: Tennis!!Babycham: Tennis!!

Advert 1957 1 mins

After your strenuous workout at the tennis club, you need a Babycham

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Change for the BetterChange for the Better

Advert 1949 2 mins

An ageing bobby learns about the Co-op divvy in this gorgeous puppet animation narrated by Stanley Holloway.

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Aladdin and the Junior GenieAladdin and the Junior Genie

Advert 1942 5 mins

Washing day keeping you from a spin on your flying carpet? This quality cinema features a young apprentice genie learning a helpful solution.

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Fun on the FarmFun on the Farm

Advert 1935 5 minsSilent

What seems a charming stop-motion rhapsody for Bourn-vita chocolate reveals some unpleasant racial insensitivity.

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Carnival in the Clothes CupboardCarnival in the Clothes Cupboard

Advert 1941 6 mins

A cartoon fantasy brings fabric patterns to life in a literal soap opera - yet even here the reality of Home Front life creeps in

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Guinness - Raf Flying ToucansGuinness - Raf Flying Toucans

Advert 1955 1 mins

An RAF squadron are alerted to an attack. Flying toucans raid the officers mess and fly off with glasses of Guinness.

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Bee Wise!Bee Wise!

Advert 1946 5 minsSilent

Pun-filled cartoon cinema ad for radios

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Guinness at the Albert HallGuinness at the Albert Hall

Advert 1962 1 mins

A conductor rearranges the members of a choir then momentarily stops to drink some Guinness before resuming his task.

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Not CricketNot Cricket

Advert 1958 4 mins

A cartoon Caribbean mini-musical scripted by a Nobel Prize winner and accompanied by a Trinidadian guitar legend

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The Red Box FantasyThe Red Box Fantasy

Advert 1935 3 mins

A colourful cavalcade of cancer sticks, in this 1930s cinema ad

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Cinema Adverts for Humber, Raleigh and Rudge BicyclesCinema Adverts for Humber, Raleigh and Rudge Bicycles

Advert 1938 2 minsSilent

A fun selection of vintage animated adverts promoting some of Britain's leading bicycle brands.