Cadburys Bourn-Vita: Whose Zoo?

1 Jan 1952
Sound
2m

From lions to llamas, an impressive menagerie of wildlife get cameos in this jaunty Cadbury advert shot in Devon.

Zookeeper Mrs Trevisick has plenty of mouths to feed. If it's not the 500 animals and birds she and her husband look after, it's the ravenous tourists who come to stay with them at Ilfracombe Zoo - where bears and lions are among the exotic attractions. This Cadbury advert says it's thanks to a daily cup of Bourn-Vita drinking chocolate that Mrs Trevisick can tame wildlife and visitor alike.

While it seems highly dated nowadays to suggest that certain household responsibilities belong to women alone, this advert belongs to a different time: its length and commentary style demonstrate that clearly. Ilfracombe Zoo, a real-life establishment run by the people seen here, would close in 1973. Bourne-Vita, which began production in the 1920s, lasted until 2008 in the UK.

Tags

From the collection

What Women Want?

Caring mums, hard-working housewives or independent, fun-loving 'new women' - the female consumer has long been a target of screen advertising.

In the cause of selling anything from baked beans to washing powders to all manner of labour-saving devices, advertisers have promised to make women's lives easier and to help them build happy homes and successful relationships.

There's no getting past the fact that women have all-too often been patronised and objectified by a male-dominated advertising industry. But screen advertising also tells (and sells) a more positive story of social progress for women, with increasing social and economic independence. This collection tracks the ups and downs of female empowerment in the 20th century, with its false steps as revealing as its forward ones.