PG Tips was launched in 1930 by Brooke Bond. The next 30 years, especially the war years, were peak times for tea drinking and the brand thrived in its place at the heart of British life. The 1950s brought commercial TV and the start of the much-loved chimp ads, which were to continue for 40 years. The campaign was such a hit in its early days because it was unique in its use of apparently talking animals, a technique much copied since.
It was easy to see the effect of the campaign - before its debut in 1956 the brand had languished at fourth position in the tea market. Within two years of the appearance of the chimps, PG Tips was the top-selling tea.
Spawning such classic lines as 'Dad, do you know the piano's on my foot?'- 'You hum it, son, I'll play it', the chimps were voiced by celebrities including Peter Sellers, Cilla Black and Bob Monkhouse. Although it attracted some critics, particularly as the animal rights movement gathered pace in the latter part of the 20th century, the campaign was always popular with viewers.
It was created by Davidson Pearce Berry and Spottiswoode, and continued by BMP DDB after it bought the agency.
After 36 years of creating one-off scenarios, the PG Tips chimp family was created in 1992, echoing other 'family' ads of the time.
Including picture cards in boxes of tea also started in the 1950s and became a strong marketing technique, one of the first instances of pester power as children started collecting the themed cards. In the early days, artists were commissioned to paint images, though later the cards were principally photos.
The late 1960s saw a brief rest for the chimps when Brooke Bond started testing other advertising treatments in some parts of Britain. But 1971 brought the chimps back in force after it was discovered that sales fell where they weren't used.
By the 1980s, tea bags had overtaken loose tea as the main way British tea drinkers chose to brew up. This was some threat for the PG Tips brand because competitor Tetley had always led the tea bag sector. In 1990, Tetley moved ahead even further by bringing out round tea bags that fitted more conveniently into the Great British tea mug.
But though tea was still a highly popular British drink it was recognised that tea as a sector was beginning to lose out to soft drinks, which were more convenient to people's increasingly busy lives.
The explosion of coffee shops around the UK also raised questions about the future growth of the market.
It was the launch of the pyramid bag in 1996 that was crucial for PG Tips. PG had to find a way of getting one step ahead of Tetley on the innovation front and these bags promised faster and more effective brewing.
Three years later and PG's bags had edged ahead of Tetley's.
Toward the end of the 20th century, PG Tips became one of the first brands to embrace the growing trend of cause-related marketing by linking with the Worldwide Fund for Nature. The link was principally reflected by a special set of wildlife-themed cards.
The new millennium brought the end of the chimps ads as Brooke Bond's new incarnation, Van den Bergh Foods, realised that it needed something fresh to appeal to a new, younger generation of tea drinkers.
The company turned to Wallace & Gromit inventor Aardman Animations to create T-birds, animated plasticine birds with regional accents that act out domestic scenes.
As PG Tips plans its development in the 21st century, it continues to battle tough competition from Tetley. The latest marketing plan is to own the idea of drinking tea as an aid to relaxation. The T-birds ads use the slogan 'We all need a PG moment' and play up the de-stressing qualities of drinking PG.
Tea might not hold the unassailable role in British life it retained in the middle of the 20th century, but PG Tips remains a key British brand, even without those funny old chimps.
FACT FILE
1930
PG Tips launched by Brooke Bond.
1956
First chimp ads screened. The ad showed a chimps tea party at London
Zoo.
1958
PG Tips takes tea market leadership.
1984
Brooke Bond bought by Unilever.
1985
PG Tags introduced - tea bags intended for use in single cups.
1991
Introduction of PG Tea granules.
1996
Pyramid bag introduced after a £25m investment. Launch ads feature
a chimp singing Papa's Got a Brand New Bag.
2002
The chimps are pensioned off in favour of animated birds. New slogan
adopted - 'We all need a PG moment'.
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