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 | |
| Release date(s) |
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| Slogan |
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| Written by |
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| Directed by | Ken Turner |
| Starring |
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| Production company | Clearwater Films |
| Produced by | David Mitton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
"Kipper" is a British stop-motion television commercial first aired in 1980.
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
The LEGO models used in the advertisement were all created by David Lyall, the LEGO model designer at LEGO UK Ltd.[2][3]
Lyall made two versions of each model: one glued version, and one to be assembled and disassembled during stop motion filming.[4]
The largest model in the advertisement, the dragon, contained around 20,000 LEGO bricks.[5]: 86
Reception
References
- ↑ "Lego 'kipper' by TBWA". Campaign. London: Haymarket Media Group. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ↑ Nicholls, Clive, ed. (Spring 1981). "A Merry Old Soul". Bricks 'n Pieces. No. 7. Wrexham, Clwyd: LEGO UK Ltd. p. 1.
- ↑ Cook, Chris; Marshall, Anne (1981). The Guiness Book of Winners and Champions (2nd ed.). Enfield, London: Guiness Superlatives Limited. p. 5. ISBN 0-85112-218-3.
- ↑ 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 three 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.
- ↑ The One Show: Advertising's Best Print, Radio, TV. Vol. 3. New York: The One Club for Art and Copy. 1982. pp. 46, 86. ISBN 0-960-2628-3-0. ISSN 0273-2033.
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)
