Remembering Paddington's Marmite Adverts

Whether from a series of books starring him in the '50s and '60s or from his eponymous film starring Nicole Kidman in the 2010s, Paddington Bear was and is a beloved figure to millions of kids around the round. As such, it was a sad day yesterday when his creator Michael Bond died at 91. As a tribute, we revisited a classic series of ads from 2007 for Marmite that managed to balance humour with nostalgia...and also piss off the Daily Mail, which can only ever be a bonus.

Though the Darkest Peru-born bear is now the official face of Golden Shred marmalade [above], a natural fit seeing as the preserve has been the character's favourite since his first book outing, in 2007 he switched allegiances to the yeast extract.

Across three adverts, created by the now-merged DDB, we saw Paddington enjoy the brown spread whilst people and animals around him hated it, as per the 'love it or hate it' message that has long become a cliché.

The first ad [above] establishes the story. ""I've always had marmalade" thought Paddington" says a voiceover, ""maybe I ought to try something different"." That something different is the yeast extract, after a bus passes advertising Squeezy Marmite. Paddington likes it, but a seagull he feeds a little bit to hates it.

The ad was an instant success, but caused Pepsi ad-levels of controversy among people paid to have hyperbolic controversial opinions in newspaper columns certain circles. Quentin Letts at the Daily Mail wrote a whole column in only-just mock outrage, and Michael Bond actually had to release a statement about the bear's true love of marmalade.

Whatever your views on a fictional bear and what he likes on his sandwiches, the ads look great, with a characteristic combination of the fluffy bear puppet and 2D backdrops, all shot in stop-motion. To fully appreciate the craft behind the ad, check out this vintage behind the scenes video where creatives Mike Crowe and Rob Messeter take viewers through how it was made.