This film is part of Free
Fairy Liquid - Bonus Offer
A commercial for Fairy Liquid that promotes both a special offer and an alternative use for it.
Overview
In terms of visual treatment, this could hardly be more spartan: a woman informs us in impeccably enunciated RP that, presumably for a limited time, Fairy Liquid is coming with a free five ounces (about 25% extra, it would seem), and that purchasers should wash the usual amount of dishes, leaving the bonus detergent for experiments with washing delicate woollens. This is an unusually transparent attempt at increasing sales by suggesting a broader range of potential uses for a familiar product.
Although the product is now so ubiquitous that ‘Fairy Liquid’ is shorthand for ‘detergent’ in the same way that ‘Hoover’ has become a verb, Procter & Gamble only introduced it in 1960, just six years earlier. The aim was to wean consumers off powder-based detergents in favour of something more convenient, and its success was immediate and huge: jingles about “mild green Fairy Liquid” quickly became common currency. Besides washing woollens, another spin-off benefit was that the empty squeeze bottles could be repurposed into everything from makeshift vases to children’s space rockets.
Related
Domestic Help Domestic Help
Advert 1952 2 mins
A cup of Horlicks helps a struggling husband bring home the bacon in this 1950s advert.
Crowning Glory Crowning Glory
Advert 1936 14 mins
Limp-haired lover Betty rekindles romance with dashing Dick by swapping to Amami Shampoo and Wave Set in this 1930s advertising film.
Ask My Mum Ask My Mum
Advert 1940 3 mins
Snow White wouldn’t look like Snow White without her special washing powder.
Eldorado Ice Cream Ad; Beautiful Women Eldorado Ice Cream Ad; Beautiful Women
Advert 1937 1 mins Silent
An ice cream a day keeps the wrinkles away…
The Clue of the Gleaming Hair (Eve Shampoo Advert) The Clue of the Gleaming Hair (Eve Shampoo Advert)
Advert 1937 6 mins Silent
Luscious hair solves a mysterious disappearance.
Fairy Liquid - Nanette Newman Fairy Liquid - Nanette Newman
Advert 1980 1 mins
Stepford wife Nanette Newman becomes the face of mild green Fairy Liquid in this iconic advert.
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.