Kipper

Kipper

Frame from the advertisement showing the titular kipper (left) and the submarine
Agency	TBWA\London
Client	LEGO UK Ltd
Language	English
Media	Television
Running time	45 seconds
Product	LEGO
Release date(s)	29 October 1980 (1980-10-29)
Slogan	It's a new toy every day
Written by	Mike Cozens (copywriter) Graham Watson (art director)
Directed by	Ken Turner
Starring	Roger Kitter (voice-over)
Production company	Clearwater Films
Produced by	David Mitton
Country	United Kingdom

Kipper is a British stop-motion television commercial first aired in 1980. Narrated by a Tommy Cooper sound-alike, the ad features two LEGO animals duelling by transforming into different things, demonstrating the versatility of the toy.

Summary

The advertisement features two LEGO creatures battling by changing into new forms to defeat the other. A small LEGO mouse, who narrates the film, is standing by a mousehole when a LEGO cat appears. The mouse turns into a dog to scare the cat, but the cat becomes a fire-breathing dragon; the dog then becomes a fire engine and extinguishes the dragon's flame. The back-and-forth transformation goes on as the two become a submarine that emerges from a puddle, a submarine-eating kipper (initially misheard as "slipper"), an "anti-kipper ballistic missile", a "missile cruncher", and finally an elephant. As the missile cruncher is about to be stepped on by the elephant, it changes back into a mouse, scaring the elephant and causing it to fall over.

Production

Kipper creators Graham Watson (left) and Mike Cozens c. 1980

Kipper was created by copywriter Mike Cozens and art director Graham Watson at the London branch of the advertising agency TBWA. Cozens and Watson had joined TBWA\London together in February 1980 after leaving the Collett Dickenson Pearce agency; after pitching an ad for Knorr on their first day there, the two started writing the script for Kipper on their second day. They developed a few print advertisements for LEGO UK Ltd before being briefed on the television project. The commercial had to be created on a limited budget; Cozens and Watson did not want to resort to making a "dull" presenter-style commercial, and spent numerous late nights developing the concept and working with the accounting team to get script approval.

The dragon model from Kipper; only its front half is visible in the advertisement

The LEGO models used in Kipper were created by David Lyall, a LEGO model designer at LEGO UK Ltd. Lyall made two versions of each model: one glued version, and one to be assembled and disassembled during stop motion filming. The largest model built for the advertisement, the dragon, contained around 20,000 LEGO bricks.

David Lyall holding the mouse model

Kipper was produced at Clearwater Films, a studio founded by former Century 21 directors Ken Turner and David Mitton. Turner and Mitton worked on the advertisement as its director and producer, respectively. Clearwater initially suggested building a detailed set "complete with wallpaper and carpets" for filming, but Watson wanted to direct it "simply", using "just the skirting board and a reflective floor."

Filming took place over the course of seventeen days. The stop motion LEGO models were built in stages during filming, with a few frames of footage being shot between each stage. Director Turner and his team planned out the timing for both the building sequences and for zooming and panning the camera, having to make sure the camera movement lined up with each stage of the models. Stop motion animation was done by Denis Russo, while camera work and lighting were done by Tom Harrison. The entire shoot was done in a single take. Watson later likened the filming process to watching paint dry.

For the advertisement's voice-over, TBWA\London initially considered using actor and comedian Mike Reid before deciding on entertainer Tommy Cooper, as his voice had done well in market research at the time. Cooper was ill at the time of recording, however; Cooper's agent additionally advised Cozens and Watson to use impressionist Roger Kitter instead, telling them "For Christ's sake, don't use Tommy. He can't read and he'll totally screw it up." Kitter narrated the advertisement with an impersonation of Cooper, including using Cooper's catchphrase "just like that". Audiences at the time were unable to tell Kitter's impression was not actually Cooper's voice; some later sources still listed Cooper as the ad's narrator.

In a 2023 interview, Graham Watson shared some development materials from Kipper. An earlier version of the script from 25 April does not feature the kipper-slipper mondegreen or the missile cruncher; instead, the fire engine is initially blue before turning red, and the kipper becomes a tractor to tow the missile.

Reception

According to Campaign's website, "Kipper" first premiered on 29 October 1980. It aired during the 1980 Christmas season.

In its Spring 1981 issue, Bricks 'n Pieces featured a photograph of Lyall holding the mouse model from Kipper.

Kipper was featured in The 100 Greatest TV Ads in April 2000, being voted at number 74 by Channel 4 viewers and The Sunday Times readers.

Starting on 31 October 2008, Kipper was run in British cinemas for a month, launched with the film Quantum of Solace, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the modern LEGO brick. In December 2009 it was run again, both in cinemas and on television for the first time since 1983.

In a 2016 interview, Mike Cozens stated that Kipper was still as funny as when it was first written, and that he preferred it over his "arty stuff".

Awards

• 1980 − Voted "best TV commercial in the world" by Hollywood Radio & Television Society
• 1981 − Cannes Lions Grand Prix.
• 1981 − Gold award for film advertising at the Designers and Art Directors Association Awards.
• 1981 − Gold in the Consumer Television: 60 Seconds Single category at The One Show's 1981 awards.
• 1981 − ITV Award for Best Commercial of the Year at the British Television Advertising Awards.
• 1990 − Finalist nominee for The One Club's ten best advertisements of the 1980s decade.

References

Sources

• Bishop, Louise, ed. (1996). "Graham Watson". The Art Direction Book. Crans, Switzerland: Rotovision SA. pp. 102–103, 106, 170–171. ISBN 2-88046-284-3.
• Myerson, Jeremy; Vickers, Graham (2002). Rewind: Forty Years of Design & Advertising. New York: Phaidon Press. pp. 252, 486. ISBN 0-7148-4271-0.
• The One Club for Art and Copy (1982). The One Show: Advertising's Best Print, Radio, TV. Vol. 3. New York: American Showcase, Inc. pp. 46, 86. ISBN 0-960-2628-3-0. ISSN 0273-2033.
• Watson, Graham (November 27, 2023). "BLOG/CAST: Graham Watson #1". Stuff From the Loft (Interview). Interviewed by Dave Dye. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2025. Includes four documents:
  • Hegarty, John (18 October 1979). "TBWA contract letter" (Letter to Graham Watson). Covent Garden, London: TBWA.
  • Watson, Graham; Cozens, Mike (25 April 1980). "'Kipper' TV/Radio Script" (Document). TBWA.
  • Watson, Graham; Cozens, Mike; Bearman, Jane (15 July 1980). "'Kipper' Contact Report" (Document). TBWA.
  • Denny, Martin (1980). "Come and See the World's Best T.V. Commercial" (Advertisement). New York: TBWA.

External links

External video
1980 Lego 'Kipper' via History of Advertising Trust on YouTube (this one is clearer but slightly squished)
Kipper (2008 version) by TBWA Worldwide on Vimeo
Kipper (New Zealand version) on YouTube

• TBWA\Chiat\Day product page for Kipper at the Wayback Machine (archived 18 October 1996)