Subscribe today using voucher code SUMMER22 for an extended free trial

This film is part of Free

Flu-ing Squad

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

Advert 1951 2 mins

Overview

Thinking about home improvements? Why not try getting your house to pop a couple of pills? In this cinema ad it works far better than any lick of paint. The producers at Halas & Batchelor were dab hands at compressing sales pitches into neatly packaged, entertaining commercials. But whilst seemingly this is a fantasy about colds and flu, the rundown houses in dark smoky streets were a familiar reality to audiences in areas damaged by the Blitz, and the Great Smog of 1952 was just around the corner.