11 of the most memorable adverts of the 1980s, including ridiculously catchy jingles

• They are the adverts and jingles that you just couldn’t get out of your head
• They helped to sell us everything from butter and sweets to toys
• Is your favourite ad from the 80s featured in our rundown of the best of the decade?

These are some of the most memorable adverts of the 1980s | Various

Forget the actual programmes, the adverts are sometimes the best things on TV.

That was especially true during the 1980s, which were a golden age for advertising, long before streaming became a thing.

Below are some of the greatest ads of the 80s, which used a combination of classic British humour, catchy jingles and some animated wizardry to persuade us to part with our hard-earned cash.

Apologies in advance if you’d only just managed to get these ear-worms out of your head after all these years, as they’ll probably be wriggling around there for a little longer now.

Shake n’ Vac

Housework has never looked as fun as the actor Jenny Logan made it appear in the classic ads for the carpet freshener Shake n’ Vac.

She is seen twirling round her living room as she vacuums in her high heels while singing the unforgettable lyrics ‘do the Shake n’ Vac and put the freshness back’.

How long Shake n’ Vac kept your carpet fresh for is unclear, but once that jingle made it into your head it was there for good.

Milk Tray

The popular Milk Tray ads of the 80s made chocolate sexy, featuring adrenaline-filled action sequences which mirrored the thrill of a James Bond movie.

Gary Myers was the original Milk Tray Man, who went to extraordinary lengths to deliver the said chocs to the object of his affections, ‘all because the lady loves Milk Tray’.

That included diving into shark infested waters, invading a heavily-guarded castle and displaying some daring skiing skills to escape an avalanche.

Cornetto

What’s not to love about gliding down the canals of Venice, licking an ice cream and being serenaded by a bouffant-haired Italian stud with an implausibly wide-collared shirt?

This was the stuff of dreams portrayed in the famous Cornetto ads of the early 80s, in which the classic line ‘just one Cornetto, give it to me’ is belted out opera-style.

Things sadly turn sour when the deep-voiced dreamboat plucks the ice cream from the woman’s hands as their gondolas pass. She can’t say she hadn’t been warned!

Lurpak

Long before Aardman Animations became synonymous with the claymation adventures of Wallace and Gromit, it produced this classic ad for Lurpak butter.

A snorkel-wearing Douglas the Butterman is seen emerging from a buttered crumpet before advising us to ‘spread a little creaminess the Lurpak way’, to the strains of a gentle melody.

He then grabs a couple of butter knives and rows across the table in this clever advert, which showcases the skills of the team who were also behind the award-winning music video for Peter Gabriel’s song Sledgehammer.

National Dairy Council

This is the ad which spawned a generation of milk lovers, especially in the red half of Merseyside.

Produced at the height of Ian Rush’s goal-scoring prowess for Liverpool, a young boy is seen guzzling milk straight from the bottle.

When his friend expresses his disgust, he replies ‘It’s what Ian Rush drinks’, before adding ‘he said if I didn’t drink lots of milk, when I grow up I’ll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley’.

His friend then delivers the classic line: “Accrington Stanley, who are they?”

The ad was replayed many times in January 2025 when Liverpool were drawn to play Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup. The Premier League giants had clearly been drinking enough milk as they secured a comfortable 4-0 victory over their League Two opponents.

Trebor Softmints

Another animated triumph is this stylish advert for Trebor Softmints, featuring a rewritten version of the hit song Mr Soft by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.

The Mr Soft character, looking a little like an underinflated Michelin Man, is seen strolling jauntily down a street in which everything is white, padded and bouncing merrily along to the catchy tune.

He casually flicks a mint into the mouth of a swaying postbox, which chomps away eagerly, before walking into a lamppost and collapsing to the ground.

The ad features the catchline: “Bite through the shell of a Trebor Spearmint Softmint and everything turns chewy and soft.”

Many people described this as their favourite advert growing up, but a few said it gave them nightmares when they were young.

Toys ‘R’ Us

This is surely one of the most memorable advertising jingles for any child growing up during the late 80s or early 90s, most of whom will be able to recite the lyrics - at least in part.

The animated ad shows a cartoon giraffe called Geoffrey and his team of young assistants stacking the shelves of the famous toy store overnight, ready for opening.

The jingle, sung in hushed tones, opens with the lyrics: “It’s a magical world, we’re on our way there, with toys in their millions all under one roof. It’s called Toys ‘R’ Us.”

Bird’s Eye Potato Waffles

These tea time staples gave us one of the catchiest jingles of the 80s, reminding us how they’re ‘waffly versatile’.

It rattles through a host of serving suggestions, including beans, bangers, bacon, burgers and fish fingers, before instructing us to ‘grill ‘em, bake ‘em, fry ‘em, eat ‘em’.

The jingle was so catchy it was revived many years later in a sing-along karaoke style version, with the words appearing at the bottom of the screen and a waffle bouncing along above them to the tune.

Kwik Fit

This classic 80s ad features not just a memorable jingle but some great dance moves to accompany it from the team of merry mechanics.

When a beleaguered motorist pulls into a Kwik Fit garage, she’s so impressed by the speedy service she asks ‘how do you do it?’.

Cue the mechanics bursting into song and dance as they belt out the lyrics: “You can’t get better than a Kwik Fit fitter. We’re the boys to trust.”

She doesn’t seem bothered that they don’t actually answer her question.

The tune feels like it could be a collaboration between Chas & Dave and Madness, with a Cockney-style knees-up of a dance to match.

Vitalite

The dairy-free spread Vitalite gave Lurpak’s Douglas the Butterman a run for his money with this simple cartoon ad, set to the infectious tune of Israelites by Desmond Dekker & the Aces.

A sunglasses-wearing animated sun can be seen spreading Vitalite on a piece of toast as he sings along accompanied by a chorus of crooning sunflowers

“Made with pure sunflower oil, and with a taste that’ll make you shine, ooooooh, ooooooh, Vitalite,” they sing.

Club biscuits

This jingle might just be the catchiest of the lot, thanks to its simplicity.

The ad features just one line: “If you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit, join our club.”

It’s repeated ad nauseum by various groups of people enjoying the park - the message being ‘who doesn’t like a lot of chocolate on their biscuit?’.

One fan said: “My favourite advert of all time. So catchy, it's a permanent earworm.”

Have we missed out your favourite ad from the 1980s? We’d love to know which other memorable adverts you think should have made the list.

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