Having just been told by her grandson Anthony that he's flunked his exams, passing only pottery and sociology, Beattie says: "He gets an ology and he says he's failed... you get an ology you're a scientist..."Mrs Beattie Bellman was created by Richard Phillips of the J Walter Thompson advertising agency in 1987.
And she was originally to have been called Dora.
The BT Beattie ads were launched around December 1987. It is often stated on the web, and indeed on a "Greatest Ads" TV show, that 1988 was the launch year, but the BT site lists the first appearance as 1987, and Maureen Lipman states in the 1989 script book You Got An Ology? that the recording of the first ten ads, accomplished in just over two weeks, took place before and after the great gale of October 1987!
Those first ten ads included the legendary "Ology".
Here's what the BT site says:
A star is born and Beattie takes the nation by storm. Maureen Lipman's Jewish granny goes on to star in 32 TV commercials and contributes the word "ology" to the English language.
See the full article here and scroll down to the 1987 section for the Beattie info.
The phone used by Beattie in the "ology" ad was a red BT Tribune - released in 1987.
"You Got An Ology?" by Maureen Lipman and Richard Phillips, 1989. Beattie had become a major celebrity in two years, justifying the publication of this funny book - which included twenty ad scripts, the thoughts of Beattie, and various household hints and recipes from the great lady!