Talking Shop

Bexhill
1953
Sound
2m

Mrs Carlisle of Bexhill-on-Sea unwinds after a busy day with a nice cup of drinking chocolate.

Mrs Carlisle of Bexhill-on-Sea is a busy housewife and mother who also runs a pet shop in the town. In the evening she and her husband like nothing more than to relax with a nice cup of Bournvita. Part of an exceptional series of cinema commercials featuring working women and a campaign that used real names and addresses too!

Advertisement for Cadbury's Bournvita. Mrs Carlisle of Bexhill-on-Sea, a busy
housewife and mother, also runs a petshop. In the evening she and her husband
relax with a cup of Bournvita.

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.