Kellogg's: Radio Ructions

1 Jan 1947
Silent
3m

Tardy squirrel in Kellogg's ad

A breakfast radio broadcast falls silent due to a tardy breakfast - will Johnny Squirrel be axed?

How an earth did anyone get to work on time before the invention of breakfast cereal? That's the basic plot of this cinema ad, which sees tardy radio host Johnny Squirrel face the axe from the BBC (Bear Broadcasting Company) because of prolonged breakfast preparation. This was the second Kellogg's ad made by Halas & Batchelor featuring the same characters. 1946's Train Trouble (also on BFI Replay) saw the squirrel cast as a railway signalman where his lack of punctuality threatened more catastrophic problems.

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Halas & Batchelor

Celebrating the vital and varied work of the pioneering British animation studio

Halas & Batchelor Cartoon Films were a defining force in British animation for more than five decades. Founded in 1940 by the Hungarian-born John Halas and Watford-born Joy Batchelor, the company progressed from producing cinema advertisements to creating vital public information films during and after the Second World War, before producing Britain's first animated feature film, Animal Farm, in 1954.

Whether working in advertising, children's television or independent short films, Halas and Batchelor championed animation as both a commercial enterprise and an art form. Though more than the story of John and Joy, their vision, advocacy and innovation helped shape the careers of generations of artists and practitioners, while bringing a broad range animated storytelling to audiences on screens both large and small.