The Art Of The Great British Ad

2 April 2026

The Art Of The Great British Ad
Cadbury’s iconic commercial featuring a gorilla playing the drums to the Phil Collins classic, ‘In the Air Tonight’, has been voted the nation’s favourite TV advert. The 90-second film, released in 2007, featured animal actor, Garon Michael – who had never held a drumstick before he got the gig – rocking out to the track’s spine-chilling drum fill. Over 1,000 UK adults voted for their favourite TV advert following a major retrospective of British advertising held at Outernet London in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the British, Arrows, one of the world’s most-respected advertising awards bodies. The top 10 Nation’s Favourite TV Adverts are: 1. Cadbury, ‘Gorilla’ (first aired in 2007) with 26 per cent of all votes cast 2. Hamlet Cigars ‘Photobooth’ (1986) with 19 per cent 3. Guinness, ‘Surfer (1999) with 16 per cent 4. Bodyform, ‘Never Just A Period’ (2024) with 14 per cent 5. Tango, ‘St George’ (1996) with 13 per cent 6. Nike, ‘Nothing Beats A Londoner’ (2018) 13 per cent 7. Channel 4, ‘Idents 2023’ (2023) with 12 per cent 8. Sony Bravia, ‘Paint’ (2006) with 11 per cent 9. Levi’s, ‘Drugstore’ (1995) with 10 per cent 10. Honda, ‘Cog’ (2003) with 10 per cent Contact: Daniel Glover, 07736 473 462, dan@theacademypr.com

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If you grew up in Britain, your childhood was likely narrated by commercial breaks as much as by the programs they sat between. Whether it was the 90 seconds of pure joy in Cadbury’s Gorilla, the anticipation of the perfect Guinness wave, the hapless man in the Hamlet cigar photobooth, or more recently the taboo-busting Bodyform campaigns around menstruation, or the unlikely Waitrose-enabled love affair between Keira and Joe – great advertising doesn’t just sell products, it enters our collective cultural consciousness and stays there. Iconic advertising is able to entertain the masses, change behaviour and transform the fortunes of brands and companies. 

There is a peculiarly British habit of relentlessly downplaying our own successes. But as the British Arrows – the ‘Oscars’ of the UK advertising industry, celebrates its 50th anniversary – it is worth dropping the modesty and remembering that, when it comes to advertising, British creativity has led the world for the last 5 decades.

In a post-Brexit, post-pandemic economic landscape where we are constantly searching for global industries to champion, we too often overlook the jewel hiding in plain sight. The UK’s creative industries are a titan, contributing massively to our GDP. Acting as the vanguard of that creative army is our advertising sector. It is an export, a cultural touchstone, and a serious economic multiplier.

To the boardrooms of the City, advertising can sometimes be viewed as the ‘colouring-in department’ – a discretionary spend to be trimmed when the quarterly numbers look lean. This is a profound misunderstanding of this engine room of commerce.

 

Read the full article here.

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