I saw – with just a tiny bit of excitement – that Cadbury’s are bringing back the Milk Tray man: the hunt for the new man is on.
I did try to audition for the part, and nearly made it… but my lack of black clothing held me back… and my lack of charisma… and athleticism… and the looks.
But seriously – glossing over the cheesiness, and underlying sexism, of the Milk Tray man (and the fact that most women would smack you over the head with a box of petrol-station-bought Milk Tray, if you presented them as a gift), we seem to love the ads of the past: the iconic ones.
In fact, bring those ads back and you can revive a brand without a new idea, just based on simple nostalgia.
My personal favourites from the past – ads I’d love to see on TV again – include the following:
Milky Way – ‘Red Car, Blue Car’
Smash – Smash Martians
Tango – ‘Slap’
I decided to ask a few friends what their favourites were, and they came up with the beauties below. Enjoy.
Cinzano
Trebor – ‘Mr Soft’
Kia-Ora
Cadbury’s Flake – The Flake Girl
Vitalite spread