Saturday Cat and Real Dairy Cream

Saturday - the cat that got the (real dairy) cream.

It was appropriate, of course, to have a cat advertising Real Dairy Cream. And why not a cartoon one?

Saturday Cat was the advertising feline for Real Dairy Cream in the UK around the early-to-mid 1970s. He may have first appeared earlier than the 1970s, and his tenure may have been longer than I remember, possibly extending into the early 1980s, but I think his reign was brief, and I know he is little remembered today.

But for a time he was the star of TV, magazine and newspaper ads, badges and booklets.

Ah, how fleeting fame can be!

December 1973 magazine ad - "Make Christmas really creamy!" That pud and pastry looks a tad indigestable to my finely-tuned 21st Century tummy.

Why was our hero of mag, book and screen called Saturday Cat? Well, the "Cat" part of the name is self explanatory, but perhaps "Saturday" indicated that Real Dairy Cream was a weekend treat? I confess myself puzzled. Does anybody out there know the answer?

"How to make the best use of cream - as recommended by Saturday Cat" - Dairy Produce Advisory Service, Milk Marketing Board, circa 1980.

1980: The Launch of the Shake 'n' Vac TV Ad!

A fondly remembered TV ad, featuring Jenny Logan doing a wonderful 1950s style song and dance routine around her living room as she sprinkled Shake 'n' Vac carpet freshener. "Do the Shake 'n' Vac and put the freshness back, do the Shake 'n' Vac and put the freshness back, when your carpet smells fresh, your room does too, every time you vacuum, remember what to do..."

The ad is often quoted by ITV, Channel Four, the BBC, old Uncle Tom Cobbley and all, as being first broadcast in 1979, but this is incorrect. The product was first on sale in 1979, but the advertising was delayed until 1980 due to the 1979 ITV strike.

The World Advertising Research Center site provides fascinating information from 1980:

-
Shake n' Vac: A New Product Launch

-

Hilary Rose, Mike Stefan and Carol Reay, Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, IPA Effectiveness Awards, 1980

-
Launch of a new powder carpet and room freshener. Sold in 1979, but advertising delayed to 1980 by ITV strike. TV only used. Results: consistent sales growth (Nielsen Food Index); sales growth linked to advertising; awareness, brand recall, levels of trial, all satisfactory. Regional variations on ad weight relate positively to sales and share (Nielsen). Contribution to profit and overheads in first year claimed, though not substantiated.

-

Go to the WARC site Shake 'n' Vac info by clicking here.

Buzby and the Arrival of British Telecom

Buzby - the talking cartoon bird, voiced by Bernard Cribbins, was launched c. 1977 and was around well into the 1980s. Buzby's catchphrase was: "Make someone happy with a phone call." A cynical play on this, very prevalent in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was: "Make someone happy - wring Buzby's neck!"

Keeping in touch with developments at the All England Club - via "the blower"! In 1980, Post Office Telecommunications became British Telecom and would become a totally separate public corporation on 1 October 1981.

British Telecom has arrived, as seen in this newspaper advertisement from July 1980.