The wonder of ... advertising
         
The only type of advertising endorsed by the founder Frank W. Woolworth promotes the opening of a new store. (With special thanks to John Compton) In the early days of F. W. Woolworth the only thing the company ever advertised was a store opening.  The founder, Frank Winfield Woolworth, said "Dress your windows twice a week with big leaders, that is our advertising".

But over the years market conditions changed and the Company started to advertise individual products and occasionally special events like the Golden Jubilee Sale in 1959.

Then in November '72 there was a new departure.  A 20 page Christmas Catalogue, stapled into the Radio Times, Britain's largest circulation magazine.  It showed the extensive range of toys, gifts and electrical appliances and also promoted a new "Woolworth by Post" service.  Woolworth by Post didn't last, but catalogues have been published ever since.
         
Woolworth were the first retailer to distribute their Christmas catalogue as a supplement to the Radio Times in 1972. Catalogues have been published every year since then and distributed through a variety of channels. The Radio Times logo is © Copyright BBC Enterprises Ltd.
         
Building on the success of the catalogues, in 1975 the Company launched a big television campaign called "The Wonder of Woolworth", created by Peter Marsh of the London advertising agency Allen, Brady and Marsh.  It was a big hit.  The commercials varied in length from 30 seconds to the whole ad. break.
         

Legendary comedian Leslie Crowther hosted one of the first Wonder of Woolworth adverts for Magnus Organs in 1975. At the keyboard is Nicola Greenwood, a young customer
         
In some of the commercials a single product or range was given the star treatment, like the advert for Magnus Electronic Organs hosted by the late, great Leslie Crowther, with a young customer, Nicola Greenwood, at the keyboard.
         

Many celebrities featured in the Wonder of Woolworth advertising, but none could be the virtuouso performances of Georgie Fame (centre) and Sir Jimmy Young (right)
         
Others featured a host of stars. Georgie Fame and Sir Jimmy Young doing full two or three minute slots to camera.  There have also been lots of walk-on cameo appearances, from both stars and personalities in the news.  See how many people you can recognise from our photo album - it spans the years 1975 to 2002 - then float your mouse over the picture for the answer.
         

(Top to bottom, left to right) : Sir Norman Wisdom, David Hamilton, Edward Woodward, Magnus Pyke, Keith the Alien, Tim Brooke Taylor, Barry Sheen, Henry Cooper, Ed Stewart, Anton Mosimann, Joe Brown, Sir Cyril Smith, Paul Kaye, Pete Murray, Sir Jimmy Young, Pat Coombs, Sir Harry Secombe, Desmond Lynam, Ant & Dec, Derek Jacobi, Paul Gascoigne, Tony Blackburn
   
Among the favourites of the 1970s was Sir Harry Secombe's "Everybody Needs Woolworth from 1979.  The campaign consisted of a series of spoof pantomime sequences in which Harry (Aladdin) sang the names of as many products as possible in 30 seconds, one or two minutes.  At the end (look behind you) a parcel fell from the sky and swallowed him up.  As the caption "Everyone needs Woolworth" appeared, Harry's muffled voice was heard saying "It ain't half dark in here, where's my lamp".

Customers at the Worthing store, famed for its poor lighting had been saying the same for years.  The advert inspired them to adapt a sign at the front of the store!

 The Woolworth store at Worthing found a customer's graffiti so funny that they left it up until the company sorted out their dim lighting !
   
Sir Harry Secombe starring in the "Everybody Needs Woolworth" television campaign at Christmas 1979. Like the best pantomime, some people loved it and some people shouted "Oh no they don't", much to the annoyance of company bosses.
 
Supporting the television advertising, Woolworth became one of Britain's largest press advertisers.  Many of the adverts supported specific promotions or products, but by the end of the 1970s the Company also started using press advertising to communicate with investors and the City.
 
Woolworth became a big press advertiser during the 1970s, with a mixture of brand, product and corporate advertising - much of it linked to campaigns on ITV.
         
From a series of corporate advertisements pitched at investors that Woolworth placed in The Times and Financial Times in 1981. It is thought that they helped attract predators to the business. As part of the new corporate advertising Woolworths placed full page advertisements in the Times and Financial Times in 1981, at a cost of £100k.  The aim was to tackle media criticism of what the City Editors considered was lacklustre performance.  They explained the Board's strategy to revitalise the business and highlighted the huge market shares that had been built on the new ranges.  But they also demonstrated the scale of potential in the business.

Only months are the campaign ran the Company faced its first hostile takeover - which all goes to show that, as the maxim goes, "it pays to advertise".
         

Recent History Gallery Home Page (1970-2004)

Diversification and rationalisation in the 1970s   The Wonder of ... advertising   
Parent company celebrates 100th Anniversary in the US   Store closures fund purchase of B&Q and Dodge City   
"Management buy in" - the most hostile form of takeover   Operation focus and format development under Kingfisher   
Farewell to an old friend as the final US Woolworths "retire"   Format development under Kingfisher finally creates Big W   
Demerger and flotation   Price quiz - 1979, 1989 and 1999