From the Archive: Carry On Flogging!

Ah the internet is a wonderful tool when the urge to track down random Carry On related stuff takes your fancy. Last month I blogged a couple of adverts Hattie Jacques made back in the 1970s. A little bit of research shows that many other Carry On stars took advantage of their fame to make commercials during the sixties and seventies.

Let's start off with one of the most infamous, the Hai Karate aftershave adverts starring none other than Valerie Leon: 

Ah they don't make 'em like that anymore...thankfully! Moving on, here is the fruity Leslie Phillips advertising some rather dubious looking wine in 1978:

Ding Dong, you're not wrong! Leslie being as smooth as ever there. Staying with having a tipple, but of a very different kind, here is a vintage advert from way back in 1964 starring comedy legend Kenneth Connor:

Rather a large one there, Matron! Now Barbara Windsor is no stranger to the odd bit of commercial advertising, and no I'm not going to mention *those* adverts...Here's Babs back in the day using her Carry On persona to flog a nice bit of cake:

Naughty but nice indeed! Perhaps this is what she decided to make instead of Carry On Emmannuelle. Very wise if it was. Now here's Bernard Bresslaw getting in on the act, promoting fish fingers during the height of his Carry On popularity:

June Whitfield made a series of adverts for Birds Eye during the late 1960s and early 70s. She took on a range of different characters, each advert having the tag "It'll make a dishonest woman of you" referring to the fact that their ready made product was so good you could cheat at home made. Naughty!

Finally, I couldn't finish this blog post without a bit of Kenneth Williams. During the late 70s and 80s Kenneth became well known as a voice over artist, due to his distinctive delivery and diligent diction. Although rarely seen in a commercial himself, he lent his vocal talents to them frequently. Here is one of his most famous and it's suitably toilet-based.

I love old adverts, they really capture the spirit and fashions of the time. There is a real innocence to them which is mostly long gone today. So do you remember any of these? Is there still some Hai Karate lurking in your bathroom cabinet or a bottle of Black Tower in your wine rack?

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