Gibbs S.R.: The Warning

Gibbs S.R.: The Warning


An amazingly complex cinema ad, disguised as a trailer for a film that never existed

Don't you hate it when the trailer has all the best bits of the film? In this case it has the only bits, as the film it appears to advertise was never actually made. In this astonishingly elaborate cinema advert, the mysterious knife-throwing stranger is red herring; the real warning is tender gums as a sign of tooth decay. Look out for future Carry On star Charles Hawtrey on the piano.

Advertising film for Gibbs S.R. toothpaste



A mock trailer for the film "The Warning" is introduced by a man. Janet is a
singer who rebuffs John but her life comes to be haunted by the repeated
appearance of a thrown warning dagger, at an audition, on a film set, and at
the return of John. She is kidnapped, but freed by John and the police after a
prolonged fight, in which the dagger thrower is caught. The introducer returns
and, whilst putting on a white coat revealing that he is a dentist, talks about
the kind of warning you get from your toothbrush when you have tender gums. He
recommends Gibbs SR, which contains the ingredients that dentists use to fight
gum disease.


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Cinema Advertising Comes of Age

The 1930s saw screen advertising find its voice. That wasn't just down to the arrival of the 'talkies', but to the increasing professionalism of ad agencies and production companies. 

Through WWII and the postwar austerity years and into the 'never had it so good' 1950s - when it had to compete with the new commercial television service - cinema advertising offered a bigger bang for your advertising buck.


31 videos in this collection

1

Symphony in Colour (Persil Advert)

2

Music Hath Charms

3

The Warning (Gibbs S.R. Toothpaste)

4

Every Man His Own Housewife (Persil Advert)

5

Let's Ask the Ladies

6

Murder in the Air

7

Bee Wise!

The key word in the book of fashion is simplicity
8

Sketchbook of Fashion (Knights Castile Advert)

9

Aladdin and the Junior Genie

10

Signs of the Times No.3

11

Fable of the Fabrics

12

It all Depends Which Way You Look at It (Solidox Advert)

13

Signs of the Times No 196

14

A Thief in the Night

15

Change for the Better

Use Rinso and help defeat Hitler! Soap brand Rinso deploys some savvy wartime advertising.
16

Little Miss Muddlehead (Rinso Advert)

17

What's Missing from this Picture?

18

Signs of the Times

19

Signs of the Times

20

Mousewife's Choice

21

Mrs Mopp's Birthday

22

The Trawl in Action

23

Signs of the Times No.2

24

Molar Mischief (Solidox Advert)

25

Shippam's Guide to Opera

26

Put Una Money for There

A curious blue lake, a wonder tablet, a river boat and a picnic essential - sounds like the beginning of a story!
27

Signs of the Times No.58

28

Says Sirdani

29

Thief in the Night (Persil Advert)

30

Changing Hues

31

Cinema Commercial - Candy Cushions

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