Gibbs S.R.: The Warning

Gibbs S.R.: The Warning


An amazingly complex cinema ad, disguised as a trailer for a film that never existed

Don't you hate it when the trailer has all the best bits of the film? In this case it has the only bits, as the film it appears to advertise was never actually made. In this astonishingly elaborate cinema advert, the mysterious knife-throwing stranger is red herring; the real warning is tender gums as a sign of tooth decay. Look out for future Carry On star Charles Hawtrey on the piano.

Advertising film for Gibbs S.R. toothpaste



A mock trailer for the film "The Warning" is introduced by a man. Janet is a
singer who rebuffs John but her life comes to be haunted by the repeated
appearance of a thrown warning dagger, at an audition, on a film set, and at
the return of John. She is kidnapped, but freed by John and the police after a
prolonged fight, in which the dagger thrower is caught. The introducer returns
and, whilst putting on a white coat revealing that he is a dentist, talks about
the kind of warning you get from your toothbrush when you have tender gums. He
recommends Gibbs SR, which contains the ingredients that dentists use to fight
gum disease.


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From the collection

The Art of Advertising

There's an art to selling, as any ad man or woman will tell you. And Britain's screen advertising has been among the most artistically ambitious of all. 

This collection highlights the evolution of an extraordinarily dynamic industry, from its first faltering steps in the earliest days of film, to the highly sophisticated mini-masterpieces of the television age. It showcases the astonishing variety of approaches, strategies and tricks advertisers have used to part us with our money - entertaining us even as they subtly manipulate us with promises of a new, tastier, brighter, cleaner, healthier and better life.


11 videos in this collection

A gentleman cyclist learns the error of his ways in one of the earliest surviving British film advertisements.
1

Rudge-Whitworth - Britain's Best Bicycle

2

Bee Wise!

3

The Warning (Gibbs S.R. Toothpaste)

4

Every Man His Own Housewife (Persil Advert)

5

Barbara's Secret

6

Molar Mischief (Solidox Advert)

One of the earliest surviving British adverts
7

The Spirit of His Forefathers

8

Murder in the Air

9

At Home with Joy Shelton An Advertising Feature

10

Signs of the Times No.3

11

Bairns-Wear Wools and Woollies - For Boys and Girls

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