Smash Martians
Encyclopedia
The Smash Martians were the stars of a series of 1970's and early 1980's TV
advertising
campaigns for Smash
instant mashed potato
in the UK
. They were a family of Martian
robot
s who would watch humans laboriously preparing mashed potato
the traditional way on TV. The robots would then mock what they saw by chortling as they heard how the "Earth people peeled their own potatoes with their metal knives, boiled them for twenty of their minutes, then smashed them all to bits" – instead of using Smash instant mash. The catchphrase 'For Mash Get Smash' is still an iconic advertising slogan in the UK
. The adverts featuring the Smash Martians were voted TV ad of the century by Campaign Magazine
.
The Martians' behaviour and personalities were initially developed while the puppeteers were messing around on set.
The Smash Martians were designed for the advertising agency Boase Massimi Pollitt
by Sian Vickers and Chris Wilkins, also responsible for the four-wheel
ed red telephone
used to advertise Direct Line
,The Gocompare.com
opera singer, Sheilas' Wheels
commercials and Mr. Mouse, a blue American
rodent
advertising the insurance group esure
.
Unauthorised copies of the Martians were made from car parts by workers at the Ford Halewood
factory near Liverpool.
, West Yorkshire
.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
campaigns for Smash
Smash (instant mashed potato)
Smash is a brand of instant mashed potato in the United Kingdom. The preparation of Smash is extremely simple - the granules are placed in a bowl and boiling water is added and stirred producing a mashed potato substitute....
instant mashed potato
Mashed potato
Mashed potato is made by mashing freshly boiled potatoes with a ricer, fork, potato masher, food mill, or whipping them with a hand beater. Dehydrated and frozen mashed potatoes are available in many places...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. They were a family of Martian
Martian
As an adjective, the term martian is used to describe anything pertaining to the planet Mars.However, a Martian is more usually a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been hypothesized, although there is currently no solid evidence of...
robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s who would watch humans laboriously preparing mashed potato
Mashed potato
Mashed potato is made by mashing freshly boiled potatoes with a ricer, fork, potato masher, food mill, or whipping them with a hand beater. Dehydrated and frozen mashed potatoes are available in many places...
the traditional way on TV. The robots would then mock what they saw by chortling as they heard how the "Earth people peeled their own potatoes with their metal knives, boiled them for twenty of their minutes, then smashed them all to bits" – instead of using Smash instant mash. The catchphrase 'For Mash Get Smash' is still an iconic advertising slogan in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The adverts featuring the Smash Martians were voted TV ad of the century by Campaign Magazine
Campaign Magazine
Campaign is the leading weekly UK trade magazine published by the Haymarket Group about the advertising and commercial media industry, known as "the Bible of British adland"....
.
The Martians' behaviour and personalities were initially developed while the puppeteers were messing around on set.
The Smash Martians were designed for the advertising agency Boase Massimi Pollitt
Boase Massimi Pollitt
Boase Massimi Pollitt is an advertising agency founded in October 1968 by Martin Boase, Gabe Massimi, and Stanley Pollitt.The three founders had previously worked at Pritchard Wood, but went their own way after failing to buy the company from its parent...
by Sian Vickers and Chris Wilkins, also responsible for the four-wheel
Wheel
A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
ed red telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
used to advertise Direct Line
Direct Line
Direct Line is part of the RBS Insurance division of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group that specialises in selling insurance and other financial services over the phone and internet....
,The Gocompare.com
Gocompare.com
Gocompare.com is a British financial services comparison website. The website enables people to compare prices on a variety of financial products, such as car insurance, home insurance, pet insurance, travel insurance, motorbike insurance, van insurance, mortgages and...
opera singer, Sheilas' Wheels
Sheilas' Wheels
Sheilas' Wheels is a UK car insurance brand that targets its insurance products to women, although it also sells to men. The brand was launched in October 2005 by Peter Wood, and is part of Esure, the insurance group he founded with HBOS in 1999...
commercials and Mr. Mouse, a blue American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
advertising the insurance group esure
Esure
Esure is an internet and telephone based insurance company based in Reigate, Surrey, England. It also has offices in Manchester and Glasgow...
.
Unauthorised copies of the Martians were made from car parts by workers at the Ford Halewood
Halewood Body & Assembly
Halewood Body & Assembly is a Jaguar Land Rover production facility based in Halewood, Merseyside, England.Halewood was originally opened by the Ford Motor Company on 2 October 1963 to build the then small-saloon sized Ford Anglia...
factory near Liverpool.
Smash Martians today
Some of the Smash Martians puppets used in the Cadbury's Smash adverts can be found in the National Media Museum, BradfordBradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
.
External links
- Smash Martians television advertisement at the ThinkboxThinkboxThinkbox is the marketing body for the main UK commercial TV broadcasters - Channel 4, ITV, Sky Media, and Turner Media Innovations. UKTV joined Thinkbox in January 2011. Its aim is to work with the UK marketing community to help customers get the best out of television in all its forms...
website.