While it's best known for its stop-motion shorts and features like Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, Aardman has a long legacy of creating memorable TV commercials. In fact, it's been involved in adverts that have been part of our collective viewing memory for over forty years and could be considered among the best adverts of all time.
The studio has worked with many familiar household names, including some that will bring a wave of nostalgia in 2025, and also on campaigns that have given expression to social issues. Below we take a look at ten examples of Aardman adverts that showcase the studio’s creativity and craft. If you feel inspired to get started in animation, then don't miss our best animation software paired with one of the best animation laptops.
Stay with us to the end, because after the examples, we'll share our interview with Steve Harding Hill, Creative Director for Aardman’s Commercials and Short Form Division about how the studio began working in advertising after the success of Morph and its video for Sledgehammer.
10 Aardman commercials
01. Chewits
The Muncher Menace! Like a rather friendly version of Godzilla, Chewi the Chewitsaurus stomps around World War Two London and is only calmed by a munching on a pack of Chewits. ‘Chew for victory!’ exclaims this commercial that will bring back memories for many who watched TV in the late 70s and early 80s.
02. Lurpak Trombone
Aardman’s Lurpak commercials spanned nearly twenty years (1985-2003) and focused on an animated character named Douglas the Butterman, who playfully emerged from a pack of Lurpak. As the series of ads evolved, Douglas would be shown playing a trombone. He became so popular that a plush toy was sold as part of a small range of merchandise that included egg cups and a butter dish.
03. Ready Brek
Ready Eddie was the first ad mascot for Ready Brek, making his debut on British TV in 1986. Eddie is a rather boring character, until he falls into a bowl of Ready Brek and is immediately enlivened with newfound energy.
04. Time Flies
Aardman’s collaboration with the third-sector production company Catsnake resulted in this elegantly animated short film, rendered in a watercolour style, about the work of the RSPB. Time Flies featured the voice of actor Jim Broadbent and aired on TV and online to coincide with Remember a Charity Week in 2021.
05. Weetabix
Ready Brek wasn't the only breakfast offering that Aardman took its hands to. It also brought Weetabix to life in a commercial in which a band of tough guy pirates realises that they are up against the toughest pirates of all as a Weetabix flag indicates that they are well fed and ready for action.
06. Cuprinol
Perhaps one of Aardman's most recognisable commercials features the character of Wonder Man for Cuprinol. He was fabricated as a three-foot high glass-fibre model for animation in a series of ads promoting the woodcare product.
07. Heat Electric
Inspired by the success of Nick Park’s Creature Comforts, the Heat Electric TV commercials of the early 1990s applied real world voices to stop-motion animated animal characters, instantly becoming a hit with the viewing public.
08. Comfort
Aardman’s commercials for the Comfort fabric softener launched in 2000 and depicted a world and people all entirely made of cloth. The launch ad was a sweet-natured love story in which the product literally provided emotional comfort.
09. Change 4 Life
The Change 4 Life commercials were produced for Public Health England and focused on promoting healthy eating. They featured vibrant characters that recalled Aardman's much-loved plasticine man Morph.
10. Save the Children
To mark the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, Aardman and international children’s charity Save the Children released a short film about the experiences of refugee children. While it was made in response to events in Ukraine, the animated short also promoted support for children in war-torn Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria.
Aardman Animation’s work in commercials
Below we interview Steve Harding Hill, Creative Director for Aardman’s Commercials and Short Form Division, to learn more about the animation studio's long legacy of work in adverts.
How did Aardman become part of the world of TV commercials?
It really was off the back of Aardman co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton’s first success with Morph - originally from the Take Hart series - which led to them being commissioned by the BBC for a series of stop motion dialogue-based animated short films. At the time, there was real interest in claymation, particularly with Will Vinton leading the way in the US with his characterful TV ads and short films.
Agency creatives were seeing a new way to bring 3D objects and products to life using stop motion and Aardman were pioneers of this. Then after the success of the Peter Gabriel music video for Sledgehammer (a collaboration with director Stephen Johnson and the Brothers Quay), Aardman were commissioned by Channel 4 to create a series of shorts called Lip Sync and this cemented their reputation in both the animation and commercials industry.
Suddenly they were the cool studio who agency creatives and brands wanted to work with, due to their skill in creating humorous, memorable animated characters.
How have the tv commercial commissions over the years allowed Aardman to explore animation approaches and methodology?
Well pretty much every brief that comes in calls for a different approach and look. It could be a variation in technique or design style. This different way of working keeps us on our creative toes. Also, the commercials that Aardman did in its early days helped fund the short films that would win them awards and get them world-wide recognition. They invested back into the company, and I’d say that commercials really are in Aardman’s DNA.
What does the short and highly concentrated form of the commercial format offer animators?
Commercials give animators the opportunity to work on varied, quick-turnaround briefs. If you can imagine that you’re working on a feature film for 18 months, where every moment is meticulously planned, practised and worked out before committing to the final take, in contrast working on a commercial gives the animator an opportunity to animate more spontaneously. Yes, the pressure is increased, with the expectation of getting the shot right the first time, but I really think animators love that challenge.
They are like alchemists, taking a puppet and then managing to imbue it with an almost magic like quality. This means as a director you must be clear when briefing an animator, as they need clarity and good direction to be able to get the shot done in one take and hit the deadline. To ensure this, we often act out the scene – videoing our actions which the animator may then use as reference. Animators also need to be good problem solvers, thinking on their feet as they work out how best to achieve the shot, in the time allowed.
What might be considered the landmark commercials that Aardman have worked on?
We have a rich 40-year history of creating tv commercials at Aardman and there are so many classic commercials particularly from the 80’s and 90’s. I personally remember the Scotch Videotape ad from around 1985, set to the Buddy Holly song ‘Not Fade Away’ with its memorable tagline ‘Re-record, not fade away’. That really captured my imagination as a teenager watching at home.
Then there’s the Crunchie campaign from the mid-90’s with its Get That Friday Feeling tagline – which really pushed animation and production values to the max. Then there is the ingenious live action, puppeteering, stop motion mix for Maynards' Wine Gums ‘There’s Juice Loose’ campaign, but I think Aardman’s most iconic ad is probably its most personal – inspired by Nick Park’s Oscar-winning short Creature Comforts., the Heat Electric Campaign with Frank the Tortoise, donned in a sweatband and talking about his busy life - describing his shower as ‘turn off and on-able’. Genius.
Looking ahead, what does the commercials space offer Aardman as a creative opportunity?
Making commercials gives us a creative opportunity to do different things. It helps nurture new talent and often lets us try new, cool, interesting styles and techniques. As I said, commercials are in Aardman’s DNA, and I’d like to think that we’ve created some classic ads that also places us firmly within the history of UK advertising.
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