Looking Back: 'When the adverts were more exciting than the programmes!!'

Often the adverts were more exciting than the actual programmes and the catchy jingles were something we went to school singing.

Cliff Adams the talented composer gained a niche in television advertising when he composed Murray Mints – the too good to hurry mints! and the themes for Fry’s Turkish Delight, Cadburys Milk Tray and For Mash get Smash!

One of his successes was the Lonely Man theme from the Strand cigarette adverts, with its haunting beauty and plaintiveness.

There were to be many memorable television adverts. Snap, Crackle and Pop, the Brooke Bond chimps, and All together now – Coates comes up from Somerset where the cider apples grow!

An advert loved by children was ‘Don’t forget the fruit gums, Mum!’ Launched in 1956, it was actually changed to ‘Don’t forget the fruit gums, chum!’ as it was felt that it put too much financial pressure on mums!!

Advertising hasn’t been without problems. Proctor and Gamble considered launching a new soap product named Dreck nearly seventy years ago. It was discovered, fortunately early enough, that the word in German and Yiddish meant dirt, or body waste, and the name was changed to Dreft which is a product we have been familiar with.

Today, television advertising doesn’t seem nearly as interesting as it was in years gone by. Holiday advertising always started on Boxing Day. There’s not much of it on now as everyone looks for holidays online. It was also the time to order a new sofa. You had to keep up with the Joneses! Afternoon viewing today gives you information on Equity Release, with happy smiling grandchildren enjoying the house and garden their grandparents no longer own, bingo, takeaways and affordable funerals.

There are a few catchy jingles, often more irritating than anything else. In fact, you usually have to resort to watching the programmes! And they’re not always so good either!!