Adverts Q-Z

A few years after the last of comedy series Keeping Up Appearances had aired, a Hyacinth Bucket-inspired character tries to appear better than the neighbours with how she keeps her bathroom here.

Robert Fyfe provides the voice of an animated block of Red Leicester here, in the days before he went on to star as Howard in Last of the Summer Wine.

A 'Change your Scenery' ad from 1998. Various characters mix seamlessly around the car to Marvellous by The Lightning Seeds.

A well remembered advert from the 90s set to a rewritten version of the song Rockin' Robin. This time it's for Rocky biscuits, with the famous Rocky Robin.

Say thank you with a box of Roses... awww. Although what the bloke in the car is doing with a spare box of Roses in the glove compartment in the first place is best not questioned!

A fast-paced advert for electronics chain Rumbelows. Rumbelows was originally started in 1969, before later being acquired by Thorn, owners of the Radio Rentals chain too. The chain lasted for several decades, before eventually being folded in 1995.

About as American an ad as you could get at the time, Salon Selectives was launched by the US cosmetics firm Helene Curtis as a salon-inspired hair care range. Originally heavily promoting the ability to mix and match just the right set of products for your hair, since the mid 90s the brand has changed hands several times as well as the products themselves being relaunched in various guises.

~ NEW! ~

Our skeletal friend returns in a less memorable advert to recant tales of how he was at the Moon Landing. A memory which will never fade due to being recorded on a Scotch tape.

The late Brian Clough starring in one of a series of adverts for cereal Shredded Wheat that ran throughout the 80s and 90s.

A classic Skol Lager ad from 1986. Containing Hagar The Horrible, who appeared in several Skol adverts at the time, we hear a brief rendition of the Skol song (sung to the tune of Monty Python's Spam Song). Clip courtesy of Iam Burn.

Still fresh from the BSkyB merger earlier that month, Sky promote their subscription service with an advert for The World Masters snooker. Given what a killer part sport would play for the broadcaster in the following years, it's hard to remember a time where it was almost more of afterthought to their movies service.

John Cleese encourages the country to Quit Smoking in 1993.

A simple advert from April 1992 heralding the arrival of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to the UK. Nintendo's challenger to the Sega Megadrive for the 16 bit battle of the 90s.

A few years later, and the ad style for Snickers has moved into those much bigger earners - using Football and Comedy!

Creating the stuff of nightmares is this computer rendered advert from SmithKline Beecham, as they were then known, for painkillers.

A few years later, although for some reason we're still living by the coast. Was Special K not allowed to be consumed by anyone living further inland in the 90s?

After being used for many years, Verdi's Overture to La Forza Del Destino became almost synonymous with the Stella Artois campaigns, doubtless not to the like of opera lovers. Here it plays out over the background of a story about an expensive pair of shoes, one of many such adverts promoting the drink as 'Reassuringly Expensive'.

A colourful advert with a catchy and memorable tune for Sun Valley Chicken from the early 90s. An attempt to shake off the preconceived image and make pre-packaged chicken products look more gourmet.

The original Tandy UK electronics chain launched in 1973, and at one time were a well known name on the British high street. This advert from Christmas 1996 is from their latter years as the UK stores were ultimately sold off to Carphone Warehouse three years later, who had quietly phased them out by 2001. Similar to Woolworths, these days the name still exists in the UK but as an online-only store with little connection to the original chain, after the brand was sold on in 2012.

Okay dont kill me... its an advert for Tango. Tango ads have earned the reputation over the years for being... well pointless! This was one of a series of ads shown around the time of the General Election, and designed to look like a political campaign. This one urges us to vote for Orange Tango. Courtesy of Iam Burn.

And then the equally pointless follow-up ad. Basically, 'the boss' tells the person responsible for the clowns ad that people 'didn't get it', and proceeds to teach him a lesson!

Up to 2003 with Tango ads now, and they're still as insane as ever. Thanks to Iam Burn.

A typically strange ad for Tango's new...um... Strange Soda. Clip courtesy of Iam Burn.

Actor Steven Hartley appears in this 90-second long advert for Tennents in 1989. The guy is probably best known for his recent appearance in The Bill as the suicidal rapist Superintendent Tom Chandler. Presumably that was not as a result of drinking the lager! Courtesy of Iam Burn.

Although the round bags had now been on the market for 2 years, it was still considered a big selling point for Tetley in 1991. Here The Teafolk let everyone know how it'll improve those days when everything has turned a bit square.

A Tetley Tea advert from 1997. This was one of the last to feature the Tetley Tea Folk in their old guise, before they were abolished for a while. Only to be reintroduced again in 2010. Clip courtesy of Iam Burn.

A reminder that the defunct Toys R Us did have adverts before the 1989 'Magical Place' one they became synonymous with for the rest of their life, with a live action one here from 1988. Also coming from a pre-internet era where it was still acceptable to suggest dolls and teddies were perfect for girls and action toys for boys, without being lynched by parents on social media.

A nice advert for the Ford Transit in 2001, set to Slade's Coz I Luv You. This advert originally started out with the slogan 'Transit - The Backbone of Britain' hence the build up to showing a 'backbone' of lights across the country. However in later variants this was later changed to the far less imaginative 'Job Done' slogan for some reason.

~ NEW! ~

A giant boot and nest feature in this TSB ad from 1992.

To welcome in New Year 2018, Tunnocks hired out an extended slot on network ITV, which they then used to air a series of adverts from their long history welcoming in the fresh year.

An ad for TV Times from 1984. These ads all but disappeared after TV Listings were fully opened up in the 90s. Up until then, only the Radio Times carried the BBC, whilst TV Times carried ITV/Channel 4. Clip thanks to Iam Burn.

~ NEW! ~

Another TV Times advert, this time from March 1987. With the cover feature this time round being Rupert Everett from Another Country on Channel 4. Also featuring The World's Most Pointless Dice.

In the second version, Norm turns up during clothes shopping. Also thanks to Iam for this.

You've just washed your shiny new Vauxhall Astra, when right on cue a pigeon parks itself right above your driveway. What is a man to do?

The Tigra From Vauxhall... Fun.... if you like that sort of thing!!

One of several animated Vitalite adverts run in the early 90s, set to the song of The Israelites by Desmond Dekker. In this one, the sun with his disembodied white gloved hands releases some poor caged sunflowers. At launch in 1983, the spread was originally produced by Kraft Foods, before the brand was sold on to St Ivel in the mid 90s, eventually ending up under the ownership of Dairy Crest.

A animated cavemen family bang on the walls to advertise new Wall Bangers from er... Walls. Clip Courtesy of Iam Burn.

Could you get much more 80s than this animated ad for Weetabix? Where a gang of Weetabix characters let you know just how cool you can be if you have a good breakfast!

~ NEW! ~

Another animated Weetabix advert, this time to promote their free(ish) illustrated 'History of Britain' book. This writer remembers having a copy in his possession for many years!

Nicholas Lyndhurst takes on a variety of roles as the family in WH Smiths' Christmas campaign for 1996. After all, what is a boy to do when he can't find any wrapping paper?

A tongue twisting song for Cadbury's Wispa from 1993. This was in the days before Cadbury strangely decided to abolish the bars and established brand in favour of 'Cadbury Dairy Milk with Bubbles'. Clip Courtesy of Iam Burn.

Advertising songs for Christmas with a simple advert, it's the defunct UK high street chain Woolworths.

Harry Enfield stars in this 1996 Worthington's advert. Boldly proclaiming how 'she' has been breeding men for 30 years, before launching in to a parody of dog food adverts.

Why is a man's head so full of boring old rubbish? er... its the question everyone asks!!

The most famous advertising campaign for Yellow Pages, the big phone directory of businesses, aired during the 80s. They featured the book coming to the rescue when no-one else could. In this version, a young male needs some French Polishers to save his life after a crazy party at his parent's house. Originally owned by BT before being sold off as a separate company, the UK editions of the Yellow Pages itself were published from 1966 right through until the end of 2018, when the company finally decided to discontinue the ever-shrinking print copy in favour of going entirely online.

Originally produced during the 'Good Old Yellow Pages' era in the early 90s, the famous Christmas version of the Yellow Pages advert well outlived any others from the campaign. Reappearing every Christmas without fail well into the 2000s, when only the internet largely killing off the big thick book resulted in the advert becoming increasingly irrelevant.