When it launched in the 1960s, Smash was marketed as the product to free families from the domestic peeling, boiling and mashing spuds .
The brand of instant mashed potatoes, launched by Cadbury, was sold all over the UK. And many across Greater Manchester will remember having it in their cupboards at home.
The product was easy to prepare and customers would simply have to add boiling water to the potato flakes and stir. But the item itself is often remembered more so for its iconic TV advert.
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The success of Smash in fact soared years later in 1974 following a now-iconic robot advertising campaign devised by ad agency Boase Massimi Pollitt. In one of the adverts, uploaded to Youtube, we see seven Martians - one red and six blue - discussing humans around a table. The red Martian asks them if on their "last trip did they discover what the Earth people eat."
One responds that they eat a great many of these - with the camera zooming in on a big potato. Cackling in hysterics, humans are branded "a most primitive people" – who peel them with their metal knives, boil them and "smash them all to bits."
The advert ends showing Cadbury's smash which is labelled as having 16 servings, with the jingle "for mash get Smash." The Smash Martians quickly became cult icons and over the years, the famous advert has continued to be votes as one of the best or most memorable. But the Martians themselves also have a unique link to Merseyside.
Do you remember this advert? Let us know in the comments section below.
In July 2015, The Mirror reported how the 1970s advert featuring the group of chortling robotic martians had been named Britain’s favourite pre-internet ad - because it made an "emotional connection" with viewers. The 1974 Smash campaign featured Martians laughing their heads off at stupid earthlings peeling, boiling and mashing potatoes.
The brand itself later became owned by Hertfordshire-based Premier Foods, which revamped Smash in 2006 with a healthier recipe and different flavours, including cheddar and onion and buttery. You can spot it now with its Batchelors brand. A number of the Smash Martians later went on display in the Animation Gallery at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford
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