LEGO BRINGS BACK 80s ‘KIPPER’ AD
November 20 2008, 10:05 am | | 29 Comments
This is relevant to Australia as Graham Watson, the co-creator of the Lego spot now resides here….
LONDON – Lego is celebrating its 50th birthday by bringing back its 1981 ‘Kipper’ advert.
The TV ad, created by TBWA, was voted one of the 100 greatest adverts ever by viewers of Channel 4.
Theads, which were taken off air in 1982, will be aired from Friday acrossUK cinemas nationwide for a month. The first showing coincides with thelaunch of the latest James Bond film ‘Quantum of Solace’.
Theanimated ad and its Tommy Cooper voice-alike. Show what you can makeout of LEGO bricks by way of a battle between a mouse which, whenthreatened by a cat, turns into a dog. The cat turns into a dragon andso on to a submarine and a submarine-eating kipper. The submarineeventually morphs into an elephant, the mouse rebuilds and the elephantfaints.
29 Comments
So how do you make a few pieces of Lego that you’ve made a mouse out of into a giant elephant? You’d need heaps more than what you started with! And since when are elephants yellow? Terrible insight, and considering that Lego is aimed at kids wouldn’t it have been better with a kid doing the VO? Plus, Lego had been around for years when this was made, so it sells it self. Smells like a scam to me. And if you’re going to air it during QOS, wouldn’t have been better to have one of the creations have something to do with the film- like a Lego made Aston Martin?
The above would no doubt be the sort of responses we’d get on this blog if this came out today. Except with more speling misteaks.
This ad is brilliant. Great insight, simple execution, clever story. Simply brilliant. Hope I can one day make an ad as great as this.
Agreed, 11:08. I wonder what Graham Watson has to say about the sad, sad state of the industry today. Though it’s likely he’d be his old, chirpy self and say something positive in his marvellous Yorkshire accent. Onya Watto.
MA
A true classic that makes me smile even just thinking about it
All you young bucks out there take note – you could learn a thing or two about genuine communication craft from this ad
Alternatively, you could just keep playing with your Lego
So is this what those 80s rice ads ripped off?
I watched it three times in a row. Love it.
Wow. Bringing back an old ad for an anniversary. You guys are edgy man.
Brilliant. Charming. Effective.
And not a scam in sight.
It’s also relevant as it’s just a great ad.
Love it, but I’m not about to give praise to a Randwick supporter no matter how good it is.
Well said 11.08 , you missed out the bit about it being shit because it shows the product all the way through and it’s just a boring old product demonstration.
Brilliant.
Brilliant ad.
“This is relevant to Australia as Graham Watson, the co-creator of the Lego spot now resides here….”
you lot cling onto anything don’t you?
Bring back more of the old ads they sold more and they had strong ideas.This new stuff is just not very good.
Nice ad.
And to old the old bucks telling us to learn a thing or two from it while we’re at it, let’s start making movies like porky’s revenge with just as compelling plot lines.
I’m sure the world would benefit.
Graham Watson is legendary – mainly because he’s as nice a man as his work, and his work’s not too bad. Adam.
ANDY – You oughta be congratulated, I feel like a tooheys, mitre ten out of ten, every time, i’m louie the fly i’m louie the fly, in 1984 the world will change, how does the snowplow driver get to the snowplow…
yes. while we’re at it let’s bring back pony tails, leather pants, denim jackets and permed mullets.
now i’m off to a 5 hour lunch before i buy 3g of coke in my suped up mazda then drive to somewhere 80s like hornsby heights to shag my permed wife on a shagpile rug next to my floral sofa while the young kids are in daycare getting bashed and my teenager’s on this new cool drug called heroin.
By the looks of the comments above, perhaps it might be an idea for a few agencies to pull out the Cannes reels from the 70s and 80s – because the ads from that era were a darn sight more creative, fun and intelligent that the rubbish being churned out today.
Who knows, if today’s creatives see what real ads look like – you know, ads that are clever and still sell rather than perplexing crap that amuses only its creators – then we might actually move forward a bit.
ANd you don’t even have to go overseas to find great stuff. Start by looking at the Palace’s reels from before the 90s.
once upon a time, some advertising agencies had principals.
(something that isn’t something, until it costs you something).
remember when cdp resigned ford. and bbh resigned cadbury because they disagreed with the direction the client was forcing their creative?
remember when mccann or (insert any other multi national) did the same thing?
of course you can’t.
lego is a fantastic spot, creative, relevant and entertaining. no wonder they are bringing it back. it will probably be even more successful, sales wise.
shame we can’t say the same about most of the drivel that masquerades as advertising today. especially in australia.
how can you research a great idea?
Salty, all agencies have principals. I think you meant principles.
Ad Agencies still have principals.
But I absolutely agree once upon a time they had principles too.
And creatives who knew how to spell.
I’m surpirsed nobody has take it upon themselves to question the whole ad because it used a Tommy Cooper ‘soundalike’.
You soon to be retrenched lot would be howling if it was a HG and Roy or Merrick and Rosso sound alike.
Lucky for us ‘ld bucks’ we own our houses, in six months you you will all be back home with Mum in Nunnawading.
as per usual, people like “retired suit” , can only spot the obvious. they never think past it. they never ask the right questions, (or for that matter , any questions) so they never get the right answers.
this has been caused, (in part), by the blind reliance of the communications industry on research to justify or not, the whole creative process. (you must have the product appear in the first three seconds of a tvc, poster headlines should comprise of five words, not six or four, five etc, etc).
and the rise of third party companies who are employed by clients to ride shotgun on agency television quotes etc. talk about agencies losing control. (eh tom?)
without principals, you can not have principles.
most so called principals in australia are no more than over titled general managers with little or no real power. (there are a few notable exceptions but not many).
they can not purchase assets without the written approval of their overseas masters.
they can not hire above $100,000.
they can not approve their own capital expenditure.
they can not give themselves a bonus.
as for standing up to a client for an idea the agency believes in, ha.
Dear 10.45 if that’s what it takes to do great work maybe you should give it a go.
But your wrong it was 2gs less polution in those days.
Ok it’s not that bloody good you old farts. And the homage to Tommy Cooper is very grating. Release it today and it would bore the kids to death. They weren’t the good old days – they were the days of filthy excess that almost brought the entire planet undone. I for one am glad they’re gone. Have you seen th 80’s annuals? Every ad is shit. Just because you found one that doesn’t suck too hard, don’t go getting all revisionist on us, you forgetful bastards.
And thus the comments came full circle, proving the validity of the first post.
Dear 9.09, you along with the first poster are simply identifying yourself as an old fart. Cummon, your nostalgia for this type of advertising does not make it good. Again, I ask you to have a look at the 80’s annuals or shot’s reels. Someone described the era as ‘creative, fun, intelligent’. Half the ads don’t even make sense. As I said before, this one’s just plain boring. Don’t worry though, it’s natural to think that things were better in your day. Your grandad used to bang on that the aeroplane jelly ads were genius. Remember? No? Time for your tablet.
Anyone who thinks this ad is boring shouldn’t be in the industry.
Anyone who thinks there’s better work around now is either fooling themselves or just a plain idiot.
As for Aeroplane Jelly, well, I’d be happy to have an ad remembered that long. Ten minutes would be the max for most of the stuff around today
And the 80s annuals crap over anything I’ve seen in the last decade.
Heavily influenced by this:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xs-J268QxzE
Still class though.
Great ad in my eyes. I think, so many kids instantly want to run into their rooms and re-build the story from their own brick collection.
It’s one ad that shows what the LEGO® brand is all about: creativity, fun and imagination!
Thanks for sharing.