Whilst scooting around YouTube I came across a great selection of TV ads that were aired over the Christmas period of 1983. Â One thing it shows is just how classy TV adverts could be back in the 1980’s, but also how cheesey they could be too. Â You also get to see a few famous faces looking a bit younger (in most cases)…
We start off with an example of a classy advert, this being for Black Magic chocolates, which plays to the romantic idea of giving chocs to your girlfriend to impress her. Â This guy does a good job though my booking out an entire restaurant!
Next is a terrible aftershave advert for Mandate – Worn by Men, Loved by Women – with a rather crusty looking chap attempting to kiss the camera, followed by an advert for Baileys Irish Cream where a woman with a dodgy haircut decides to dip her little finger in a glass of the drink.
Going back to a staple food of the Christmas period (chocolate) we have a rather jolly but a bit naff advert for Quality Street. Â For me Quality Street is one of my cherished memories of Christmas as our family always got one of the big tins at Christmas. Â Back then you were either a Quality Street or Cadbury’s Roses family at Christmas, as unlike today these were the only sweets generally sold in such large containers.
Not to give the impression that Christmas is just about chocolate and alcohol (surely not?) but we now have another alcohol advert, this time for Tia Maria. Â If the “ingredient list” for Tia Maria isn’t cheesey enough for you, then the man’s comment to his wife at the end certainly is.
An advert for Castella cigars comes next, which comes as a bit of a surprise given in the UK tobacco can no longer be advertised on TV. Â Another Christmas essential product follows in the form of indigestion relief product BiSoDoL, then its more sweets, first one of the much missed adverts for Fox’s Glacier Mints with the polar bear and the fox, and then another choccies ad, this time a Romeo and Juliet themed ad for Terry’s Milk Chocolates, featuring Mel Smith, who it has to be said hasn’t really changed a great deal over the years.
The Braun Independant is advertised next, a hair curler that runs on butane gas (sounds dangerous) and then a “stylish” and “elegant” Timex digital watch and an advert for British Telecom bigging up phone boxes (the old fashioned red ones too, which are becoming a bit of a rarity these days).  The massive Debenhams toy sale (Woo! A whole one pound off a Millenium Falcon  or Castle Greyskull!) features next.
More alcohol, this time Skol lager, which could almost pass as an advert for today, and features a Tom Baker voice over back from when he was merely just a bit loopy rather than completely doolally. Â The Old Spice ad of the bloke surfing that aired every Christmas follows this and then yet more alcohol first with a Martini advert, featuring the girl on roller skates delivering a customers order half way across town, and then a very young (and decidely less posh sounding) Hugh Laurie advertising Kestrel lager.
The whole lot is rounded of with a slightly less epic than usual Woolies ad, this one starring Joe Brown as a circus ringmaster, accompanied with Geoff Capes, Rula Lenska (I think), Eric Bristow (who today looks completely different when he appears on the confused.com insurance advert).
All in all this ad break lasted a staggering eight and a half minutes, so I guess we should be grateful as I’m sure most advert breaks these days are much shorter (not that I care as I usually fast forward through the ads nowadays using Sky+). Â View the entire lot below…
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OMG, so many memories! I so wanted to be that Martini girl…. And the day my Dad stoppped using Old Spice (About 5 years ago….) was a terrible day. And do you think that if Woolies had kept to their old style Christmas ads, they’d have saved themselves??!!
I wonder if perople will be watching our ads in 20 years time?
It’s a real shame about Woolies, isn’t it? Especially when the company was only a year away from trading for an entire century!
I’m sure in 20 years time we’ll be laughing about the ads of today in just the same way as we giggle now about these ads from the 80’s.
You should have a look at http://www.retrotvads.com. It has loads of ads from the 70’s 80’s & 90’s. Its amazing how an old ad can stir up the memories. Love this site by the way!
Thanks for the tip off about the Retro TV ads site. I’ve taken a quick look and there appears to be loads of great ads from my childhood.
Glad you like the site too!
Hi
I saw you appear in my stats tonight as someone clicked the link ‘Tom’ listed above. This site is awesome and I have added it to my links widget on my blog. Well done!
Regards
Will
Hi Will,
Glad you like my site, and thanks for the link. You’ve got a great site there yourself. I spent quite a while sifting through some ads for long forgotten products!