Ovaltine radio ad - 1938

This truly was what we now call native advertising. Ovaltine rides rough-shod over Ofcom rules on transparency, given the product being advertised is only made clear some considerable way in this lengthy ad which sounds like a proper drama. And – at the end – today’s RACC would likely take a sharp intake of breath as they hear the claim that “perfect health” is “the inevitable result” of “regular Ovaltine”. Thankfully, neither body was around to stamp its feet as this ad was first aired on 18th December 1938.

These sorts of ads were very much part of programming on the early commercial stations across Europe. Stations like Normandie and Luxembourg sold off chunks of their output to the likes of Ovaltine, Quaker Oats and Cadbury. The brands then went on to embed their brand merrily within the output by creating entire programme strands; and ads as long as they liked. Food for thought for today's programmers wrestling with the new brand integration freedoms.