Food and drink adverts on TV have always been clever and witty. Brian Stormont took a look back on some of the best from the last five decades.
“Pea and ham fae a chicken – now that’s clever”.
If you are of a certain age reading or hearing this line will immediately bring a smile to your face.
These are of course the immortal words uttered by Hughie who had no idea that his wife used Knorr ham stock cubes in the famous TV advert.
Hughie tells his pal that it’s chicken soup for tea as they had enjoyed chicken the night before, expecting stock and leftover meat to make the soup.
However, it’s pea and ham soup that his wife serves up which leads to the amusing moment the following morning when Hughie’s pal asks him how his chicken soup was?
And Hughie’s pal is amazed that his wife was able to conjure up pea and ham soup from the leftovers of a chicken.
This is just one of many iconic TV adverts for food and drink over the last few decades that we hold dear to our hearts.
We have compiled a list of 10 of the most iconic TV adverts to give you the opportunity to enjoy them all over again.
1 – Knorr Stock Cubes
2 – Cinzano Bianco
A hilarious series of adverts featuring the late Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins always resulted in Ms Collins being covered in Cinzano Bianco.
3 – Campbell’s Meatballs
During the World Snooker Championships in 1989, young Kevin Moffat made his big break by potting a plate of tasty Campbell’s Meatballs.
4 – Tudor Crisps
Who could forget the boy saying he would “climb a mountain for Tudor” only to discover the high-rise lift was out of order…
5, Bernard Matthews
Bernard Matthews’ turkey roast was “bootifully” tender and just the thing to treat the family to, he claimed on his TV adverts.
6 – Smash
The aliens who had visited Earth to find out what we ate were not hugely impressed by our love of mashed potatoes when they had Smash!
7 – Chewits
The monster was bringing an end to civilisation as we know it – but Chewits “chewier than a 15-storey block” saved the day on these hilarious TV adverts.
8 – PG Tips Tea
The lovable chimpanzees doing all manner of things and then enjoying a cup of PG Tips tea afterwards was a hugely popular series of ads.
9 – McCain Oven Chips
A group of men heading home from work broke into song for McCain’s with the unforgettable chant of “We all hope it’s chips!”.
10 – Milk Tray
The mysterious Milk Tray man always ensured that the lady got her box of chocolates – and completed some death-defying stunts in the process.
Read more about food on TV…
Cooking all over the world: The celebrity chefs that made us fall in love with food
Throwback Thursday: And it was because the lady loves … Milk Tray
