Vim: Says Sirdani

1945
Sound
2m

Don't Be Fright!' A radio magician with a unique approach to the English language cooks with vigour and cleans with Vim.

Radio magician Sirdani conjures up an omelette that tastes like 'heavenly necktie', but when it comes to washing up it's Vim that does the trick. Many personalities from radio appeared in cinema commercials of the 1940s, offering rare footage of stars that were more recognised by their voices. Performing magic on the radio is not as easy as it sounds, with Sirdani's (aka Sid Daniels) comic malapropisms and catchphrases covering for the lack of visuals.

Advertising film for Vim cleaning powder.
Comedy magician Sirdani makes himself an omelette whilst mangling the English
language in a comic fashion, performing magic tricks, and repeating his
catchphrase, "Don't be fright!" After eating, he cleans the pan with ease -
revealing that he didn't use magic this time, but Vim.

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.