Watch the full ad here:

Andy's thoughts:

"Boy on a bike” is regularly voted one of the nation’s favourite TV commercials, despite not having run for decades. If that’s not a great advert for great adverts, I don’t know what is!

And yet, it’s arguably a very unlikely success story. The story (as if I need to tell you) is a rather gentle, nostalgic yarn, narrated by an old man, about his time as a bakery delivery boy. There are no laughs, celebrities, moments of high drama or stunning visual effects unlike some of the other commercials on this list. In fact, it’s a somewhat quiet and introspective spot.

The Director (a youthful Ridley Scott) and wider team knew what they were doing, though. The wholesome narrative was a great way to communicate the product message that “Hovis still has many times more wheatgerm than ordinary bread.” The sepia film-style and Dvorak’s New World Symphony, played by Ashington’s Colliery Band, accentuated the timeless feel. And the line “As good for you today as it’s always been" quote wrapped the whole thing up, like a baker’s loaf.

Obviously, it’s very much of its time. But that’s the whole point! In fact, it was deliberately old-fashioned, when it launched in 1973. That’s what made it stand out a mile. And it’s why people still refer to that music as “the Hovis song” and that kind of imagery as “like a Hovis ad”. Instead of copying everyone else, the team created their own distinctive world and placed the brand and product at the centre of it, without it feeling forced.

An advertising lesson which is as good today as it’s always been."