London Animal Rights Protest at New P.G. Tips Ads
Animal Rights protesters have been picketing the London offices of P.G. Tips as the company prepares to launch its new advertising campaign this week. The adverts star Johnny Vegas and his popular sock puppet friend, Monkey, and replace TV’s long-established and popular P.G. Tips chimps.
‘We’ve been left without a shirt on our backs,’ mimed one of the ad’s longest serving performers. ‘It was a life of luxury being a TV star and then they decided to replace us with a sock. How humiliating is that?’
The P.G. Tips chimps are the last cruel victims of pressure groups that have been campaigning for years to save the monkeys from the world of TV advertising. It has led to a backlash among many popular brand names who have been quick to disassociate themselves with their own corporate icons.
Only last month, the Tetley Teamen were made redundant, leading to Mr. Cuthbert Morris (47), known to millions of viewers as ‘Our Morris’, throwing himself under a loaded toast stand. It is understood that Mr. Morris had become depressed at losing his status as the nation’s best love tea drinker. Although he’d been offered lucrative contracts to work advertising other beverages, he refused to promote anything other than Tetley tea. ‘I’m a Tetley teaman,’ he confessed in one of his last interviews. ‘People may have forgotten us, but we’re still around brewing good strong cups of tea.’
As for the P.G. Tips chimps, they are finding it equally hard to adjust to life without pianos to move up staircases. ‘I suppose it’s back to the zoo for us,’ said a spokeschimp for the disgruntled stars. ‘We’ll be working all day for a bag of nuts or a banana. And some people call that equality…’
January 7th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Well thank goodness for that, those PG Tips ads always made me cringe. And don’t worry about the chimps, David, they’re planning on taking over the world - they reckon, and so do I, that they could do a far better job of running the power nations.
January 8th, 2007 at 12:07 am
But doesn’t every primate have dreams of controlling the world? These chimps are a sad sight indeed, having had their livelihood taken from them. I feel very sorry for them. Having interviewed them, they seemed sincerely disappointed at being let down by P.G. Tips and not a little cold being forced to walk the London streets in January in only their hats.
As for the news about Our Morris: I think his passing was a real tragedy that was sadly missed by the mainstream media. The man was as iconic as a cup of tea.
January 12th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
(While writing this the new advert came on (TWICE))
I too, feel sorry for the chimps because they were a vital part of my upbringing & if they take over the world, then i hope they will recognize this and allow me to join them.
HOWEVER
Johnny Vegas’ attitude to everything is wrong, which makes him an amiable & funny man, he just isn’t complete though without his nearest and dearest friend, the delectable Monkey.
Rock On Johnny & Monkey
Enjoy the cuppa
January 13th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
These days I drink Yorkshire tea and so i couldnt give a pyramid bag.
love from old yorkshire biddy.