The Woolworths Virtual Museum: Christmas Advertising Feature

The A to Z of WOOLWORTHS Advertising

Ask anyone under twenty one and chances are they will believe there has always been television - and Woolies has always been a big advertiser on TV. But Woolworths didn't actually hit the screen until the mid-1970s, twenty years after ITV was launched. Imagine - no "Wonder", no "Well Worth It" and no "Let's have some fun". Catalogues and newsprint were the preferred media from 1931 (when the company asserted its independence from the Americans as it launched on the Stock Exchange). They still form a pivotal part of our advertising strategic to this day. And until the mid 1920s, with only two exceptions the company only advertised new store openings - nothing else - on instructions from Mr. F. W. Woolworth

"Dress your windows twice a week with big leaders" said Frank Woolworth "that is our advertising"

Don't imagine that Woolworth didn't like advertising - he never skimped on handbills or press advertising for store openings. Quite simply in the early days he didn't have to advertise once a store was open. Woolworth goods were so much cheaper and better than the competition that word of mouth was enough. If a rival store began to threaten, Woolworths could afford to drop their prices until they gave up.

		Every store opening since 1879 has been supported by advertising. Like the first store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the latest Woolworths Big W openings in Aberdeen and Swansea have been supported by handbills delivered door-to door. Most openings are also press or radio advertised - a few have been advertised on television. Fun has always been in abundance for openings. Frank Woolworth arranged an orchestra and a string quartet for store openings - and these days a brass band and a stilt walker are among the many attractions.

GOOD THINGS TO KNOW (issued in the 1930s) was the the British Company's first sustained attempt at advertising. A hand-sized advertising magazine was sold to customers for threepence (about 1.25p). It contained topical tips for "Hobbies, Home, Pets, Toilet ... everything! " encouraging customers to trade up across the range. It was interwoven with ads for the products of the day - all funded by the suppliers. It was a hit!

		Home adornment featured strongly in "Good Things To Know", with design ideas for every room in the home. Suppliers found that, by using the pages of the magazine to illustrate how to use their products alongside an advertisement. Room settings and 'how to' guides still feature in our catalogues and advertising.
		It pays to advertise but in 1935 Liverpool University students gave a free centre page in their rag mag headed "What can't you get for sixpence at WOOLWORTH'S"

January and July have been sale months at Woolworths ever since 1880, always supported by strong window point of sale and unbeatable deals across the store. In the 1930s, suppliers competed for window space, wooing window dressers with elaborate display materials and design ideas - proving Frank Woolworth's adage the windows are our advertising. It is simply amazing what they achieved with the simplest materials - paper signs, bandanas and mirrors.



Keeping prices down to the upper limit of sixpence (2½p) was the major pre-occupation of the Buyers throughout the 1930s. In America, faced with intense competition, F. W. Woolworth Co had resorted to a 15 cent (9d or 4.25p) line in the early 1920s, before dropping the upper limit altogether in 1929. In the UK, several ruses were needed to keep within the limit (like selling saucepans and lids separately, or charging 3d (1.25p) sales tax on top of the selling price of some goods). But the company's phenomenal success meant that they were able to keep the cost of living down for Britons everywhere - and in a true virtuous circle, the longer they kept the prices down, the more successful they became. The breaking point was World War Two, which saw commodity prices jump enormously between 1939 and 1940 as the U boat threat in the Atlantic closed the shipping lanes for imported goods. Finally in 1940 the Buyers gave in to the inevitable and announced that the limit had been suspended in 1940's Good Things To Know.



Letting people know where to find Woolies was the key priority during the 1940s as store after store was damaged in the Blitz. The Company is proud that we never closed, and we pay tribute to our colleagues who found ways to re-open their stores when disaster struck. The Plymouth superstore (shown below), which reopened in the market, is a prime example of the bulldog spirit.

Woolies in Plymouth				Western Evening Herald

Market changes in the 1950s led Woolies had to make radical changes to their brand-positioning, marketing and public relations during the 1950s. Despite the austerity and rationing the followed the war, customers were determined to "win the peace" and expected higher standards of living, with more comfort and convenience and modern design at home. Without the constraint of an upper price limit (and with the benefit of a strong base of suppliers around the world), the company quite simply reinvented itself - pioneering the concept of Do It Yourself and offering stylish designs for the home, kitchen and garden. Underpinning this was a superb advertising and marketing campaign that came out of the windows and into the papers - both in advertising and editorial.



New ranges and new stores were the trademark of Woolies throughout the 1950s and well into the 1960s. With the Company topping the stock exchange (second only to ICI), advertising became bigger and bolder, and (in common with other retailers at the time) the company decided to establish a number of own brand labels - principally "Winfield" for commodity items, (taken from the founder's middle name), "Kingsmere" for foods (intriguingly the name of Frank W. Woolworth's British bulldog from the 1910s), "Household" for Paint and "Baby Doll" for a world class range of cosmetics.



Organs were the unlikely candidate for the first Woolworths television commercial (1976). Company records show that the idea of advertising on TV was very controversial in the boardroom. The Marketing Director, Mr. L. B. Sherlock, engaged Peter Marsh of the late and lamented London Agency Allen, Brady and Marsh to mastermind the campaign. They went ahead despite Board criticism that "no-one will ever remember the Wonder of Woolworth" and "the expense simply cannot be justified". As fate would have it, the unknown young star of the first commercial - appearing alongside veteran Crackerjack presenter Leslie Crowther - got in touch with Woolies the other day, asking if we could find a video of the ad. to show to her children. We were able to oblige and are pleased, through the pages of the website, to introduce Nicola Greenwood - superstar (below left).



The commercial was a big hit. Sherlock (who had served Woolies for over 40 years, rising from Stockroom to Boardroom, managing many stores in between), had captured the brand and personality perfectly - presenting Woolies as aspirational and fun, with innovative products at good value prices. Organs are simple to play - and anyone can do it. All five of the company's core values - product obsession, pride, innovation, and simplicity in store that are open to all - in 30 seconds flat. The commercials are still remembered by press and public alike. There were many ads in the Wonder series, featuring (among others) Sir Jimmy Young, Georgie Fame, Tony Blackburn, the Nolans, Henry Cooper, Barry Sheen and Gerald Harper. The Company had a bumper year and the organs drove parents nuts up and down the land right into the 1980s!



Public Relations is an essential part of any advertising strategy, and Woolies have been leaders in the field for over 100 years. From the opening of the Woolworth Building in 1912 through countless articles about Frank Woolworth, the "Merchant Prince" in the early days, to press launches for the Christmas range - a new idea in the 1970s, Woolworths have always courted the media. But no Public Relations or Corporate Affairs team has matched the sustained success of the 21st century, which led to Woolworths Group Corporate Affairs being named team of the year in the recent industry awards.

			Queen Elizabeth II has inspired the nation for over 50 years - and has featured regularly in Woolies advertising and public relations. She once told the Daily Mirror that once Christmas she did all her Christmas shopping in Woolies, and she has been spotted from time to time in our store at Peascod Street, Windsor. The stores always rise to the occasion for royal events with decorations, bunting and fun - hardly surprising as Woolies are No. 1 for Kids and Celebrations!

Radio has played an important part in Woolworths' marketing strategy since the first commercial stations were launched. In the United States the Company sponsored The Woolworth Hour on the CBS Network from the early 1950s onwards, while in the UK (give or take some music commercials on Radio Caroline) our love affair with Independent Local Radio started when LBC and Capital Radio launched in London in Autumn 1973 and we were among the first advertisers on 194 Radio City in Liverpool in October 1974. In keeping with this tradition we're very proud to be the new sponsor of Hit40UK, Britain's best chart show, which plays across the Independent Local Radio network.

Play as a WAV file or MP3 >>>	50s US Jingle Wave file MP3	70s UK Wave file MP3	90s Pic'n'Mix Wave file MP3	Hit40UK Wave sample Link

Stars galore have featured in our commercials over the last 25 years - many making appearances on camera at Christmas in the "spectaculars", with others doing voiceovers and personal appearances. See how many you recognise! (Float your mouse over the picture to find the answer)



Trams are among the most unusual media ever used for Woolies advertising. The "Wonder of Woolworth" tram was a feature of the 1976, 1977 and 1978 seasons. Train advertising has also been a regular feature over the years



Until our demerger throughout the 1990s, the British Kingfisher group was the largest retail advertiser on television - cutting a deal with the Independent Broadcasting Authority to allow advertising formats to be pre-approved, with product details slotted in right up to the day before screening. The approach (which now benefits many companies including Woolworths) was used to advantage in the "Well Worth It" campaign, where the centre section of the advertisement showing the product details was distinct and separate from the beginning and end sections.



Value is the most enduring message from Woolies advertising over the last 100 years. Frank Woolworth prided himself on offering "a lot for not a lot" from 1879 - which was the slogan for Woolworths Big W when it launched 120 years later. From our opening advertisement in the UK in 1909 to the Well Worth It slogan that emblazons today's carrier bags value, Woolies have done more to keep prices down than anyone else in Britain.



Woolworths famous "W" has served as a trademark and emblem in five distinct guises over the last 94 years in the UK. For our first 50 years the Diamond W logo drawn by Frank Woolworth served as the company's emblem, appearing on store fronts, in the windows and on countless products. In 1959, to mark the 50th birthday and to mark the company's top retailer status on the stock market a new shopping basket motif was designed and used in the early 1960s, being replaced in the early 1970s by the Winfield "W" which was used until 1984. Since 1984 the company has used a plain sans-serif W for retail marketing, and developed a sans serif on serif logogram for our parent company Woolworths Group plc on our recent stock market flotation. A branding campaign for the 21st century saw the bright red W accompanied by lots of "W" words - leaving the marketeers scrabbling for their dictionaries. Besides the obligatory Wonder, Wonderful, Wonderland and Woolies, other uses included Wow, Wizard, Wicked, Where, When, We're, Wish, Whizz, Wild, Win and Word! No Wonder the sign writers sighed with relief when the new "Let's have some fun" brand was launched in Summer 2003.



		Xmas is when Woolworths is at its best. It's the time when everything comes together - advertising, point of sale, the product range and customer service in the store to create our unique magic. Little wonder that for many years the American company's logo read "Woolworths - America's Christmas Store". The Company has a unique claim to fame in that it was Frank Woolworth who introduced the Christmas decoration into America - importing glass baubles direct from manufacturers in Germany. Decorations for Christmas feature in the opening advertisement for Woolworths in the UK and the Company have been market leaders for decorations, cards and wrapping paper for nearly a hundred years.

Year books marking key birthdays and milestones have played an important part in maintaining the core values of the business and passing on the history and traditions from one generation to another. These booklets were originally given away free in the stores (1919 and 1929) before being mailed to investors from 1939 onwards. The British Company published books of Managers photographs at five to ten yearly intervals from 1924 to 1979. The tradition was restarted for the millennium. Most of the books give pictures of the latest store to open and a snapshot of the number of stores trading. Woolies were also among the first companies to introduce a house magazine - The New Bond, for all colleagues, which launched in 1936. Today's successor, the Woolies News, is widely read across stores, offices, distribution centres and retirees. It's a great example of colleague culture at work!

Zero hour. That brings us to the present day. An independent Woolies, that isn't ashamed to look back and learn from the past - building on some fine traditions. But we're firmly focused on the future, on our core customers - young mums and their children. Watch out for our upcoming advertising campaigns under the "Let's have some fun..." banner. Well did you ever have fun in a supermarket? Be honest.

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