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SMIRNOFF | MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE | 1993
In 1993, a Smirnoff bottle bent the world out of shape. Look through it, and piano keys turn into penguins, an old man turns into a walrus, a brooch turns into something else entirely. Surreal, witty, and a little unsettling all at once. This "through the bottle" idea became one of the defining images of Smirnoff in the 90s.
BRITISH AIRWAYS | Surprise Surprise | 1993
Something happened in a movie theater in 1993. The title "Surprise Surprise" seems to say it all, but the details remain a mystery.
NSPCC | EXCUSE | 1992
In 1992, a public service ad ran in British cinemas. It opens with nearly a full minute of darkness, then photos of children and the "excuses" given by their abusers appear one after another. Quiet, dark, and impossible to look away from.
VAUXHALL MOTOR CO | CAR PET | 1991
It's 1991, and the ad is called "CAR PET." It's wordplay—CAR and CARPET, PET and CARPET. And there's probably a dog somewhere in the video (just guessing here). Just the hint of that very British wit is already enough to make this fun.
MAXELL | INTO THE VALLEY | 1990
In 1990, cassette tapes were losing ground fast to CDs. MAXELL and HHCL's answer wasn't to explain sound quality—it was to talk about misheard lyrics.
MAXELL | THE ISRAELITES | 1990
In 1990, the cassette tape was already on its way out. Losing to CDs on both sound quality and futuristic appeal, it had slipped to fifth place in the UK blank tape market. That's when Hitachi Maxell dropped this 30-second ad.
BATCHELORS | ODE TO A PEA | 1990
A white plate. One single pea. A violin swells as a poetic voice intones, "Oh pea, perfect sphere of jade, why do you torment me with your beauty?" Britain, 1990.
LEVI | Laundrette | 1986
In 1985, a 60-second spot aired in Britain the day after Christmas, and it turned jeans—once seen as uncool—into something to long for. What Nick Kamen took off wasn't just his clothes, but the heavy baggage of jeans being "your dad's clothes."
JOHN SMITH’S | THE WRONG CROWD | 1985
Two slightly rough-looking guys at the pub. Convincing enough to lead anyone astray — that's the tagline of this ad. A piece of British advertising from 1985.
JOHN SMITH’S | COLD（The Dog） | 1982
In 1982, a dog did a handstand in a British beer ad. That simple 30 seconds became part of the culture.
LEGO | KIPPER | 1981
LEGO, 1981. A mouse turns into a dog, a cat turns into a dragon, a submarine turns into an elephant. For 45 seconds, every time the bricks get rearranged, something new appears.
COTY | FRENCH LESSON | 1978
This perfume ad for Coty L'Aimant won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 1978. Released with the line "Do you speak L'Aimant?", the film feels like a mirror reflecting how the British saw the French—and how they saw the French language and the culture of perfume.
GUINNESS | BLACK POT | 1976
This Guinness ad won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 1976. It seems to pair two quiet moments: a player sinking the black ball in snooker, and someone slowly drinking down a Guinness. "Slowly putting away the black" — both are about putting away something black, and neither should be rushed.
JOHN HARVEY & SONS | TASTER | 1971
A sherry commercial made in 1971 by CDP, the agency that defined the golden age of British advertising. It won gold, but the details behind it are lost somewhere on the other side of time.
RONSON | COMET | 1967
In 1967, a quiet revolution was happening in the world of lighters.
SCHWEPPES TOMATO JUICE | Gardening Advice | 1961
In 1961, a British commercial that won the Grand Prix at the Cannes advertising festival pretended to be a gardening program. But underneath, it was really an ad for Schweppes tomato juice. It talks about gardening with a completely straight face, and before you know it, it's talking about tomato juice instead.
BARCLAYS BANK | Put Una Money For There | 1956
This is the first British ad to win the Grand Prix at Cannes, back in 1956. It's called "Put Una Money For There." It's a three-minute animated ad built around a calypso sung in pidgin English (simplified English), urging West African farmers to "put the money from your harvest into Barclays Bank." Ba-ba-ba-boom. That tune is impossible to shake, and when you remember this was 1956, it's pretty wild.