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) |
|
| Slogan |
|
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Ken Turner |
| Starring |
|
| 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
"Kipper" was created by copywriter Mike Cozens and art director Graham Watson at the London branch of the advertising agency TBWA.[2][3]: 252 Cozens and Watson had joined TBWA together in February 1980 after leaving Collett Dickenson Pearce; after pitching an ad for Knorr on their first day, the two developed a couple of print advertisements for LEGO UK Ltd before being briefed on a television project.[4][5]
The LEGO models used in Kipper were all created by David Lyall, a LEGO model designer at LEGO UK Ltd.[6][2] 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 built for the advertisement, the dragon, contained around 20,000 LEGO bricks.[7]: 86
Kipper was produced at Clearwater Films, a studio founded by former Century 21 directors Ken Turner and David Mitton.[8][9] Turner and Mitton worked on the advertisement as its director and producer, respectively.[3]: 486
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."[10][3]: 252
Filming took place over the course of seventeen days, and was done in a single take.[7]: 86 The stop motion LEGO models were built in stages during filming, with a few frames of footage being shot between each stage.[7]: 86 Watson later likened the filming process to watching paint dry.[4]
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.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Myerson, Jeremy; Vickers, Graham (2002). Rewind: Forty Years of Design & Advertising. New York: Phaidon Press. pp. 252, 486. ISBN 0-7148-4271-0.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 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.
- ↑ Cozens, Mike (January 29, 2016). "INTERVIEW: Mike Cozens". Stuff From the Loft (Interview). Interviewed by Dave Dye. Archived from the original on 18 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.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 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.
- ↑ McCarthy, John (June 14, 2022). "World's best ads ever #88: Lego lays the foundations for 40-year legacy with 'Kipper'". The Drum. Carnyx Group. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ↑ Moody, Annemarie (May 28, 2008). "Children's TV Creator Dies Unexpectedly". Animation World Network. Van Nuys, California: Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ↑ Bishop, Louise, ed. (1996). "Graham Watson". The Art Direction Book. Crans, Switzerland: Rotovision SA. pp. 170–171. ISBN 2-88046-284-3.
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)
