Findus: Fishsticks
Three-shot advert showing the package, several sizzling fish fingers, and a child gratefully eating them.
As the child at the end of this ad beams with delight after having been fed Findus Fish Sticks, the soundtrack exclaims 'Freshissimo!', a made-up word that creates the impression that despite the product being intended for the freezer, the cooked end product tastes even fresher than merely fresh. Since fish sticks (or fingers) are now such a ubiquitous part of the British child's diet, it's strange to recall that they'd only been introduced to the UK in 1955, just eight years earlier.
Originating in Sweden in 1945, the Findus brand was marketed in Britain between 1958 and 2016, when it was finally discontinued. Their Fish Sticks were a rival to Birds Eye Fish Fingers, which had been devised by company founder Clarence Birdseye in 1927 but not manufactured in bulk until the 1950s. They were an immediate hit, and by the time the Findus commercial appeared fish fingers already accounted for 10% of all British fish sales. At that time, less than half the British population owned a freezer, meaning that the Fish Sticks would have had to be cooked immediately after purchase.
Food, Glorious Food!
Peckish? If you're hungry for a snapshot of our changing attitudes to food then dig in.
Whatever your taste - reliable staple or indulgent luxury, square meal or satisfying snack, essential nutrition or guilty treat - there's always an advertiser looking to make your mouth water.
45 videos in this collection
Branston Pickle: Advertising Agency
Heinz Baked Beans Common Market
Lyons Maid Lolly Gobble Choc Bomb
RHM Nimble: Tennis Woman: 80781C
Cadbury's Chocolate The Factory in a Garden
Lyons Ice Cream Commercial
Lyons Maid Vanilla - 2p Off
Cadbury's Star Bar
Lyons Ice Cream - Kinema
Food Supply
Nimble Bread: Lunch Date
Rowntrees Kit Kat: Model Train: 82997
Kellogg's: Radio Ructions
Shippam's Chicken Supreme
Shippam's Pilchards and Tomatoes
Seniors Paste
Findus: Fishsticks: 85406
Heinz Tomato Ketchup : Fish Patties
Shippam's Poster
RHM Nimble: Mini Car: 86108
Seniors Steak and Kidney Puddings
CDF - Dog Food Advertisement
Kelloggs 'good Morning Trevor'
Kelloggs Corn Flakes: First Car: 81990
Findus - Pancakes: Pancake Day (Revised Version)
Kelloggs Frosties: Concorde: 81104
Kelloggs Special K: Oxford Street: 82268
Lyons Maid Gold Seal
Lyons Tasty Treat
Findus: Battered Cod Steaks: Aa569
Shippam's Country Pot - Ooh Arr
Heinz Ploughman Pickle - Lunch
Shippam's Sandwichmakers
Heinz - Egg Box
Elsie and the Brown Bunny
Heinz Chicken Soup Mother Hubbard
Orange Maid: Drink on a Stick
Kelloggs Sugar Smacks: Space Mission Badges: 82551
Cadbury's Dairy Milk - Xmas
Cadbury's Flake: Sunflowers
Youth Will Be Served
Findus: Peas: 83879
Findus: Homecoming: 83942c
