Pg Tips: Hairdressers
An example of the long-running Brooke Bond PG Tips advertising campaign, with talking chimpanzees dressed as humans.
By the time Hairdressers was first shown in 1978, Brooke Bond had been using a chimpanzee 'family' (known as the Tipps) in their PG Tips teabag advertising for 22 years, a tradition that finally ended in 2002. This is one of the most famous examples (it won a Gold Award at the British Television Advertising Awards), featuring Dolly and Ada gossiping about 'our Betty's' new hairdo, which justifies a visit to an all-chimp hairdressing salon where everyone's wearing a wildly incongruous wig.
When Brooke Bond started the campaign in 1956, they had 11% of the British tea market. By 1977, PG Tips was the market leader, with 26%, a success largely credited to Ada, Dolly and their simian co-stars. In his book Advertising Made Simple, Frank Jefkins attributes the campaign's success to its combination of innovation (no other medium allowed real chimps to pretend to be talking human beings) and down-to-earth ordinariness (the commercials are packed with parochial British references), as well as striking the right balance between regularly referring to the product without overselling it.
Tags
Liquid Refreshment
What’s your tipple? Whether it's a nice relaxing cuppa or a swift half, this refreshing collection of drinks adverts has something for everyone.
Learn about the dangers of night starvation, wonder whether it really can be good for you, and find out how to make things go better. Bottoms up!
48 videos in this collection
1
2
Guinness - RAF Flying Toucans
3
Pg Tips: Hairdressers
4
The Spirit of His Forefathers
5
Fun on the Farm
6
What Ho She Bumps
7
"Corona" Cordials taken hot - are good to drink and good for you
8
There is going to be a Great Demand for - "Corona" Fruit Drinks
9
South Sea Sweethearts
10
Love on the Range
11
Coco and the Bear
12
Horlicks Advert: Dan Dare
13
The Man with a Girder
14
Guinness Shipwright Version 1
15
Guinness - Factory
16
Coca-Cola: Refreshes You Best - Bowling
17
Coca-Cola: Things Go Better With Coca-Cola - Diving, Bowling and Tennis
18
Coca-Cola: Alan Beale
19
Coca-cola: Biba's Boutique
20
Coca-cola: Piccadilly
21
A Guide to Goodness
22
Guinness Export - The Man (Version 1)
23
Guinness Export - The Man (Version 2)
24
Guinness Export - The Man (Version 3)
25
Carling Black Label Bike Girl
26
Guinness - Young Barmaid
27
Guinness - Hop Farm
28
Brooke Bond D: Tea Party
29
Guinness - Do It Yourself
30
Cinema Commercial for Charbonnier Red
31
Guinness - Streebe-Greebling (English)
32
Guinness - Kung Fool
33
Guinness - Ploughman
34
Whitbread Trophy 'shakespeare' 'a'
35
Guinness - End of Play
36
Guinness - Talking Lesson
37
Guinness - Film TEST
38
Guinness - April Fool
39
Guinness - April Fool (Animatic Version)
40
Babycham: Clovelly
41
Babycham: Tennis
42
Domestic Help
43
Meet the Ovaltineys
44
Good Strong Coffee
45
Dolly Put the Kettle On
46
Guinness - Cycle Race (Version 1)
47
Ace of Clubs
48