"On Your Bike"

5 October 2015

40s

A timely way to reinvent the wheels

Back in the day when the iconic 'boy on a bike' Hovis ad was made, boredom drove children to play outdoors. There weren't the myriad TV channels there are now, or the dizzying array of electronic games and endless internet / social media options to keep them glazed and glued to their seats.

There were no mobile phones. Traffic wasn't so busy. There weren't the same scares about predatory strangers. Children just went out. Out of sight, out of earshot. Till hunger or bedtime brought them home.

We know those times won't come back, and for all the nostalgia surrounding the comparative freedom children had then, there was plenty about the era that we'd be horrified to experience now. But that's a whole other story.

What this does is update the original Ridley Scott commercial without trying to resurrect it - a wise idea, and very neatly done. As three young friends prepare to head out on their bikes, the house around them tries to keep them prisoner - a nod to contemporary life; and a conceit which - we suspect - will greatly appeal to children. After all, who doesn't remember fantasising about outsmarting adults and villains and teachers and monsters? The house can represent anything they want to project onto it... and handy supplies of Hovis sandwiches are what will keep them one step ahead as they make their bid for independence.

UK

Bread / Bread Products