A compilation of ads I found on various videotapes while I was archiving them. The sequence starts in 1989 but after that the dating is rather vague and mixed up for the early-to-mid-1990s. There are a few from the 2000s right at the end.
Because familiar situations and stereotypes help to support the effectiveness of advertising messages, and the people making the ads were most likely born around the middle of the 20th Century or a bit later, these commercials can't help looking backwards nostalgically as well as forwards to the UK's thrusting new business and commercial culture. I think there are definitely occasional glimpses of a Britain that would not have been out of place in the 1970s, as well as a pressure to keep up with the times and embrace change and new attitudes.
There are a few popular celebrities - most fondly recalled but one or two pariahs as well (I don't think we need any comments about *them*, we all know who they are).
It can be interesting to compare these British telly commercials with ones that are currently running today. Those products, companies and people you assume will be around forever? They can vanish from memory. But the roads will always be suspiciously empty, cars will provide a refuge from the wild world outside, and the family will get together for dinner. Perhaps there's a comfort in that.
10 янв 2023
