Monkey (also known as "ITV Digital Monkey" or "PG Tips Monkey", and often pronounced "Monkeh" or "Munkay" in imitation of Johnny Vegas) is an animated puppet advertising character in the form of a knitted sock monkey. Monkey has appeared in advertising campaigns in the United Kingdom for both the television company ITV Digital (now defunct) and tea brand PG Tips, as well as being occasionally featured in TV programmes. Monkey is notable as one of a small number of advertising characters to eclipse the popularity of the product they advertise and also to be reused to advertise a completely different product[1].
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ITV Digital
A series of high profile adverts for ITV Digital featured the laid-back, droll and composed Monkey (in a variety of t-shirts) playing the straight man to the comedian Johnny Vegas's slob character "Al". Produced by The Jim Henson Company via their UK Creature Shop, puppeteered by Nigel Plaskitt and Susan Beattie and voiced by comedian Ben Miller, the monkey was one of the few positive public relations successes of ITV Digital. Purchasers of ITV Digital were sent a free soft toy Monkey with their subscription. For a period during the advertising campaign and after ITV Digital’s bankruptcy, the original promotional Monkey toys were in high demand and short supply. One sold for £150 at the bankruptcy auction[2] and they were selling for hundreds of pounds on eBay. Later the Gadget Shop purchased the remaining promotional toys from ITV Digital's liquidators and sold them through their retail stores. These saw a boost in popularity after an appearance in the second series of award-winning British sitcom The Office.
Legal Dispute
As Monkey was created and owned by advertising agency Mother rather than by ITV Digital itself, it was the subject of a legal dispute as both claimed the rights to the character[3][4]. This prevented its use for some time, despite many organisations being keen to acquire the rights[5]. The dispute was eventually resolved by both parties agreeing to donate the intellectual property rights for Monkey to Comic Relief. Following the resolution of the dispute, Monkey appeared in a few TV shows, with the BBC using it for 2001's Comic Relief, as well as making a guest appearance on ITV's coverage of the 2002 BRIT Awards[6]. In each case Monkey appeared without Johnny Vegas.
PG Tips
In January 2007, Monkey and Vegas reprised their double act in a new series of advertisements for PG Tips tea. The adverts make reference to PG Tips' popular series of adverts featuring live chimps which ran between 1956 and 2002 as well as to ITV Digital going "belly up". The first advertisement was named "The Return" and currently 3 further adverts have been shown. PG have just launched a website selling the newly branded "PG Monkey" merchandise with profits being donated to Comic Relief, who still own the intellectual property rights. Also, from February 12th 2007, PG Tips are giving away free mini-Monkeys with every special packet of 160 bag PG Tips. Monkey prefers his PG made with "three stirs clockwise, two stirs back; one and three quarter sugars and show it the milk", according to the advert "The Return" and the official PG Tips website.
T-Shirts
Monkey wears a number of different T-Shirts with slogans in the adverts and on the toys. Many of these serve no obvious advertising purpose.
- "ITV Digital"
- "Sidekick" or "Sidekick?" (a reference to his status relative to Al)
- "Britney"
- "Is it me?"
- "Beef"
- "Svennis forever!"
- "Puppet?"
- "Chimp" (in the style of the PG Tips logo)
- "Mr Shifter?" (the name of one of the characters in the original chimp adverts)
- "2'6"
- "3% Invisible"
- "Thought for the day" (with a picture of a banana)
References
- ^ Guardian Unlimited: "Vegas & Monkey: A welcome revival"
- ^ BBC: "ITV Digital Monkey under the hammer (September 2002)"
- ^ BBC: "Firms fight for Monkey's business (May 2002)"
- ^ Daily Telegraph: ITV Digital Monkey in custody battle
- ^ The Observer: So who killed ITV Digital? (See final paragraph)
- ^ BBC: "Monkeying around at the Brits (January 2002)"
