You either love or hate TV ads. But however you feel, you can't deny they have the power to make us laugh, cry, and even – of course – go shopping.

Often products will be pushed by huge celebs, such as Elton John advertising Cadbury's Fruit And Nut chocolate in the 1980s, or Hollywood star Kevin Bacon currently serving as the face of mobile brand, EE.

But sometimes ads will make stars of the people appearing in them – Melanie Sykes first shot to fame in the 1990s, after becoming the face of Boddingtons bitter, and later hosted her own TV show. And way back in 1979, a young Brad Pitt starred in an ad for tubes of Pringles crisps.

But TV adverts weren't always so slick when they first popped up on British screens, an incredible 68 years ago.

Early days

On 22 September 1955, an ad for Gibbs SR toothpaste made history but it was far from polished. It simply showed a block of ice, a tube of paste, and a voiceover talking about its "tingling fresh" qualities.

Gibbs SR got to go first in a lottery, beating brands like Guinness and Surf. Yet not many people saw it only 100,000 homes in London and the South East could pick it up on special TV sets.

Famous faces

BBC Radio 2 DJ Melanie was brought back 20 years after the Boddingtons ad to say "by 'eck it's still gorgeous". And who could forget the Oxo campaign, which made the late Lynda Bellingham a household name?

The story followed the ups and downs of her family as they gathered around the dinner table with a hot jug of gravy, much like a soap opera. They were loved by viewers, with some even thinking they were a real family.

Lynda served up her last supper in 1999, after appearing in 42 adverts since 1983, and sadly died of cancer in 2014.

Drink up

But not all ads are as heartwarming – some have been pulled and banned, like the Tango adverts in the 90s.

One featured a bald man painted head to toe in orange, wearing a nappy, slapping a teenager around the face after drinking a can. It ended with the slogan "You know you've been Tango'd" and sparked copycat slaps in playgrounds around the country.

The soft drinks company also got into trouble for ads featuring an exploding pensioner and a boy rolled down a hill wrapped in a carpet filled with oranges.

Then there are the adverts that look more like arty music videos. Guinness's surfer campaign was the most seen and most recognised ad of the 90s. The black-and-white two-minute drama showed how a surfer's long, steady wait for the perfect "white horse" wave pays off, just as waiting for a pint of the stout would.

Sex sells

And sex sells in those three minutes between our soaps. Who can forget the 1992 Flake advert, showing a woman in red lipstick enjoying a flake in an overflowing bath tub? Or the purr of the Cadbury's Caramel bunny, voiced by Miriam Margolyes?

In 1985, a simple Levi's advert featuring a hunky man stripping down to his underwear in a laundrette to wash his jeans had everyone's hearts racing. This ad played a key role in making Levi's jeans popular in the UK.

Iconic moments

Going back a bit further, instant mashed potato company Smash introduced its iconic Smash martians in the 1970s. These alien robots watched humans making mashed potatoes the traditional way and realised they could do it much easier with Smash. The slogan "For Mash Get Smash" was born, pushing the product into the public's mind.

But the most iconic ad of all time has to be for Hovis bread. Filmed in 1973 by director Ridley Scott, before he became a Hollywood sensation, it showed a boy struggling up a steep hill to deliver bread. Once he reached the top, he freewheeled back down, accompanied by a voiceover: "T'was like taking bread to top of the world t'was a grand ride back though."

Christmas countdown

Christmas is the time when adverts truly shine, with supermarkets releasing their most ambitious and heartwarming ads, spending millions on dazzling festive clips. From the iconic Coca-Cola trucks that mark the start of Christmas, to Quality Street's magical moments featuring a boy gifting a chocolate to his school lollipop lady, these ads certainly get us in the mood for shopping.

And what if you're too short to reach for a festive kiss under the mistletoe? Well, grab your Yellow Pages, of course! We all remember the 1992 ad where a little girl holds up the mistletoe waiting for a kiss, and a little boy uses the hefty Yellow Pages to boost his height.

But it's the John Lewis advert that we eagerly anticipate these days – from foxes and badgers bouncing on a trampoline with Buster the boxer, to a boy with a Venus flytrap.

Yet with TV ads also being so good at winding us up, sometimes so much that we'll switch over to another channel or even sign up for an on-demand ad-free streaming service, how much longer will they last?

* This article was crafted with the help of an AI engine, which speeds up OK!'s editorial research and applies it to article templates created by journalists in our newsrooms. An OK! editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to [email protected]

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