The 10 Greatest UK TV Adverts of the Last 70 Years (and why they still matter)

TL;DR shortlist

• Hovis — “Boy on the Bike” (1973) – Ridley Scott’s nostalgic classic for CDP. Wikipedia+1

• Cadbury Smash — “Martians” (1974) – John Webster’s BMP masterclass in fluent devices. Campaign Live+1

• Yellow Pages — “JR Hartley” (1983) – AMV BBDO’s tender, perfectly told hunt for a book. Wikipedia

• Levi’s — “Laundrette” (1985) – BBH’s game-changer; directed by Roger H. Lyons. hatads.org.uk+1

• Tango — “Orange Man / You’ve Been Tango’d” (1992) – HHCL, audacity and cultural ubiquity. Wikipedia

• Guinness — “Surfer” (1999) – AMV BBDO & Jonathan Glazer’s all-timer. Wikipedia

• Honda — “Cog” (2003) – W+K’s chain-reaction precision poem. Wikipedia

• Cadbury — “Gorilla” (2007) – Fallon’s joy-bomb; Cannes Film Grand Prix. The Guardian

• John Lewis — “The Long Wait” (2011) – adam&eve’s Christmas template; Dougal Wilson. Campaign Live

• Channel 4 — “Meet the Superhumans” (2012) – 4Creative’s Paralympic thunderclap. The Guardian

Why these ten?

To keep things fair across seven decades (1955–2025), picks were judged on: (1) cultural impact and recall, (2) creative craft (direction, copy, music), (3) effectiveness and fame creation, and (4) longevity and influence on the industry.

Quick reference table

1) Hovis — “Boy on the Bike” (1973)

Ridley Scott’s 47 seconds of memory and music—Dvořák’s “New World”, Ashington Colliery Band—etched the cobbles of Gold Hill into national folklore. Commissioned by CDP, the ad’s simple premise (a boy pushing his bike up a steep street) became shorthand for “authentic Britishness.” Decades later it keeps topping polls and was even lovingly remastered in 2019. Wikipedia+2Marketing Week+2

Why it worked

• Place + score + picture: location is a character; the score lifts the heart.

• Understatement: no hard sell—just feeling.

• Distinctive brand assets: Hovis + brass band + hill = instant recall.

What marketers can steal
Lean into cultural memory and music; own a place and a mood as much as a product.

2) Cadbury Smash — “Smash Martians” (1974)

At BMP, the late John Webster turned instant mash into a national in-joke. Cackling Martians laugh at humans peeling potatoes—“For Mash Get Smash”—and a category is transformed with wit, repetition and characters people wanted to see again. Campaign Live+1

Why it worked

• Fluent device (repeatable brand world) + catchphrase.

• Category reframing: convenience > toil, told with charm.

What marketers can steal
If you can’t afford fame, invent it—with characters, lines and rituals people adopt.

3) Yellow Pages — “JR Hartley” (1983)

A gentle, perfectly paced story of an elderly man searching for Fly-Fishing by J.R. Hartley—and finding it via Yellow Pages—became the textbook for brand warmth. Actor Norman Lumsden’s reveal (“My name? … J.R. Hartley.”) is still quoted; the campaign later inspired actual book spin-offs and a 2011 digital nod. Wikipedia+1

Why it worked

• Human truth: the joy of finding a lost piece of yourself.

• Service dramatized: brand utility embedded in the plot.

What marketers can steal
Find a small human story that only your product can resolve; let the brand be the enabler, not the hero.

4) Levi’s — “Laundrette” (1985)

BBH took a fading icon and made it the teenage uniform again. On Boxing Day 1985, model Nick Kamen strips to white boxers while Marvin Gaye’s “Grapevine” hums—directed by Roger H. Lyons—and the 501s became irresistible. It changed fashion (and underwear sales), and reset music-syncs as a brand growth lever. hatads.org.uk+1

Why it worked

• One unmissable scene you could describe in five words.

• Music as strategy, not wallpaper.

• Brand codes (501s, Americana) distilled into a modern fable.

What marketers can steal
Obsess over a single, vivid moment that can be retold without explanation.

5) Tango — “Orange Man / You’ve Been Tango’d” (1992)

A slap of surrealism from HHCL: an orange-painted man thunders in, slaps the drinker, and sprints away—“You’ve been Tango’d.” Playground culture exploded; regulators blanched; fame soared. It’s messy, unforgettable, and very, very British. Wikipedia+1

Why it worked

• Cultural audacity: embraced mischief; sparked talkability.

• Ultra-simple branding: line, action, colour.

What marketers can steal
If your category is bland, pick a side and be the energy brand—responsibly, of course.

6) Guinness — “Surfer” (1999)

Director Jonathan Glazer, creatives Tom Carty & Walter Campbell, AMV BBDO: a surfer waits, the wave rears, “white horses” crash, Leftfield’s “Phat Planet” surges—patience becomes a cinematic myth. Channel 4’s public vote later ranked it #1 Greatest TV Ad. Wikipedia+1

Why it worked

• Big idea from brand truth (“Good things come to those who wait”).

• Film craft at the very top; sound and picture as religion.

What marketers can steal
When your brand promise is universal, dare to make art, not a checklist.

7) Honda — “Cog” (2003)

Two minutes. Every click and clack is a real Accord part in a cascading Rube Goldberg chain, ending on the line: “Isn’t it nice when things just work?” Directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet, made by W+K London—it became the water-cooler ad of the year and spiked web traffic and dealership visits. Wikipedia

Why it worked

• Product demo, disguised as wonder.

• Radical simplicity: one thought, executed perfectly.

What marketers can steal
If you sell engineering, show it doing the impossible—quietly and beautifully.

8) Cadbury — “Gorilla” (2007)

A purple-lit gorilla closes its eyes, waits for the fill, and bang—that Phil Collins drum break detonates. Fallon London and Juan Cabral didn’t sell chocolate; they sold joy. It reignited the brand and took the Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix (shared that year), proving emotion trumps rational category norms. The Guardian

Why it worked

• Counter-category: no product shots, all feeling.

• Shareable before “shareable” was a KPI.

What marketers can steal
Find your one-word feeling and build a world around it. Product love follows.

9) John Lewis — “The Long Wait” (2011)

The ad that set the modern UK Christmas playbook. A boy can’t wait for Christmas… not to get but to give. Directed by Dougal Wilson for adam&eve (pre-merger), soundtracked by Slow Moving Millie’s cover of The Smiths—this became the brand’s emotional signature and sparked a decade of seasonal event-TV. Campaign Live+1

Why it worked

• Role inversion: generosity as the twist.

• Ownable ritual: John Lewis turned ads into annual cultural moments.

What marketers can steal
If you show up every year, build tradition—consistent codes, fresh stories.

10) Channel 4 — “Meet the Superhumans” (2012)

A 90-second 4Creative blitz announcing C4’s London Paralympics coverage: muscular editing, Public Enemy’s “Harder Than You Think”, and athletes shown as uncompromising stars. It reframed disability in sport, became a landmark in representation, and won top creative honours. The Guardian+1

Why it worked

• Truth + swagger: representation with attitude, not pity.

• Integrated event marketing at national scale.

What marketers can steal
When you have a purposeful story, tell it with confidence and craft—audiences feel the difference.

Patterns behind the greats

1. Music is a growth lever
   From Dvořák to Marvin Gaye to Public Enemy, the soundtrack does more than decorate; it codes memory and spreads the story. Wikipedia+2hatads.org.uk+2

2. One idea, obsessively executed
   “Wait” (Guinness), “Work” (Honda), “Joy” (Cadbury), “Give” (John Lewis). The very best ads are a single thought made unforgettable. Wikipedia+2Wikipedia+2

3. Fluent devices and characters
   Smash Martians, Tango’s orange man, and later the Meerkats show how characters can build compounding brand fame. Campaign Live+1

4. Human stories beat product features
   JR Hartley, Hovis and John Lewis put people before product—and the brand shines brighter for it. Wikipedia+1

FAQs

What’s widely considered the greatest UK TV ad of all time?
Channel 4’s public vote programme The 100 Greatest TV Ads (2000) put Guinness “Surfer” at #1. Wikipedia

Which ad genuinely changed a brand’s fortunes overnight?
Levi’s “Laundrette” is the textbook case of brand revitalisation in the UK; it reignited 501s and is still studied for the way a single film can transform demand. Levi Strauss & Co

Did Cadbury’s “Gorilla” really win Cannes’ top film prize?
Yes—Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix in 2008 (shared that year). The Guardian

Who directed “Meet the Superhumans”?
Tom Tagholm for Channel 4’s in-house agency 4Creative. Little Black Book

Is Hovis’s “Boy on the Bike” really filmed in the North?
No—despite the northern myth, it was shot on Gold Hill, Shaftesbury (Dorset). Wikipedia

Bonus: a marketer’s checklist inspired by the top 10

• Start with a single sentence: If your idea can’t be pitched in ten words, keep chiselling.

• Let the brand be the consequence, not the hero: demonstrate how life is better with you in it.

• Own a feeling: Joy (Cadbury), Patience (Guinness), Generosity (John Lewis).

• Use music strategically: pick tracks that carry your idea, not just accompany it.

• Build fluent devices: characters, lines, rituals—assets you can reuse for compounding fame.

• Be brave about craft: when the idea is simple, execution is everything (Cog, Surfer).

• Harness seasonality: show up consistently (John Lewis) and create cultural appointments to view.

Honourable mentions (quick nods)

• British Airways — “Face” (1989): Hugh Hudson’s mega-scale people-face; a late-80s epic. Wikipedia

• Sony Bravia — “Balls” (2005): 250,000 real bouncy balls down San Francisco hills; colour like no other. Campaign Live

Closing thought

The UK’s greatest TV ads aren’t just great advertising—they’re great stories. They earned attention, then returned it with delight. If you’re building a new classic, start where these did: one true idea, crafted to be remembered.

If you want, I can turn this into a printable guide with side-by-side frames and a creative checklist for each ad—or tailor a version focused on a decade, sector (FMCG, automotive, retail), or Christmas ads only.