www.Deadpan110.com

While doing one of our regular shopping trips, we saw this box of tea containing a free monkey.

PG tips started in Manchester back in 1869 and during the 1950s the first PG tips ‘chimpanzees’ advert appeared featuring the ‘Tipps family’ with all the chimps dressed as humans and drinking tea.

One of these adverts, called ‘Mr. Shifter’ holds the world record, for the advert shown most times on British Television.

Although no chimps were ever harmed in the making of their adverts, chimpanzee tea parties and the use of them dressed as humans slowly became very politically incorrect over time.

This campaign was replaced in 2002, with a house sharing group of claymation birds called the T-Birds, animated by Aardman, the company behind Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run.

This led to PG Tips becoming a major partner with Wallace and Gromit’s film ‘The Curse of the Wererabbit’, launched in October 2005. PG offered ‘Gromit’ mugs on pack in the supermarket and sales flew through the roof, increasing 600%. Wallace and Gromit also appeared in an advert with Lady Tottingham (another character from the film) around the same time.

January 2006 saw the launch of PG tips newest advertising campaign featuring Digital Monkey, a laid-back, droll and composed character wearing a ‘Mr Shifter?’ T-shirt and is saying that he’s not a chimpanzee - he’s a monkey, both references to the ‘Tipps family’.

I was surprised to see ‘Monkeh’ as he is a knitted mascot used to promote ITV Digital prior to its last broadcast on 1 May 2002.

The ITV Digital TV adverts featured Digital Monkey who was produced by The Jim Henson Company via their UK Creature Shop and the comedian Johnny Vegas.

Purchasers of ITV Digital were also sent a free copy of him and he became in great demand after ITV Digital’s bankruptcy, selling for hundreds of pounds on eBay.

Its definitely good to see Monkey and Johnny back together on our TV screen during the ad breaks and now that I have my very own free monkey, I will look after him for years to come but i doubt PG tips will go bankrupt any time soon!!