Co-op: Change for the Better

1949
Sound
2m

An ageing bobby learns about the Co-op divvy in this gorgeous puppet animation narrated by Stanley Holloway.

An ageing policeman on the road to Wigan Pier stops being a divvy when he learns about the Co-op dividend. The monologues of Stanley Holloway were often adopted by cinema advertisers, and this immensely charming stop-motion puppet animation is one of the best. For a short period Signal Films put out some of the most technically accomplished animation of the period, but sadly they never graduated to theatrical productions.

Amusingly portrays an important incident in the life of P.C. Higginbotham. A puppet film in Technicolor with commentary by Stanley Holloway.

Animated Ads

British animation won great success as an entertainer, but it has long had a lucrative second career in sales

In cinemas and on TV, animated adverts have frequently outshone the main attraction. In the early days of the cinema, animated ads were often relative epics, with five-minute comic encounters leading to a pack-shot punchline. The arrival of commercial television in 1955 brought the animated ad down to bite-size, but if anything they packed an even harder punch. Advertisers found that animation could soften the edges of a hard sell approach, and bring cartoon brand characters to life.