Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

[BlitzKid]

OK, this is gonna sound very weird, but I DID see this thing on TV when I was a kid! I'm pretty sure it was shown in about 1986, but I can only guess at the year from memory. It was shown as a clip on TV-AM one morning, and I'm assuming it was a clip from some TV show (or maybe a film, or short film) so I wondered if anyone could help me identify what this is from:

The clip showed a bird's-eye view of a busy outdoor swimming pool. To the left of the pool there was a mother sat on a chair with a little boy in front of her, and she was unfastening his shirt buttons and talking to him as she did so. (I remember her being slightly overweight with short black hair and wearing a black jumper and trousers. The boy was a typical-looking small kid wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.)

Anyway, she was talking while unfastening the boy's shirt, seemed completely normal at this point. (The boy didn't say anything- it was just a long monologue by the mother and the boy just looked straight ahead at her the whole time.) But after a while the mother suddenly changed her voice mid-speech to a funny voice, and continued talking while unfastening the boy's buttons, but in a funny voice. The boy didn't react to this at all. Then after another few minutes the mother was just lifted out of her chair by nothing, hung in mid-air for a few seconds still in a sitting position (while screaming out still in a funny voice) then fell into the pool with an enormous splash. Most bizarrely of all, absolutely NO-ONE reacted to this- the swimmers at the pool (there were loads of them) didn't acknowledge a thing, and even the boy didn't react- just stood staring straight ahead at the chair as if the mother was still there.

So does anyone else remember this, or have any idea exactly what it was from? I'm into surreal, freaky movies and stuff, but this is much weirder than anything else I've ever seen!

[BlitzKid]

Re: Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

Just bumping this back up in case anyone remembers it... I'm suspecting now that this thing might have been some kind of Public Information Film...

[Marine Boy]

Re: Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

Racking my brains over this one, BlitzKid, but can't imagine what it could be. I'll keep looking though.

[ClaudineJones]

Re: Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

I'm suspecting now that this thing might have been some kind of Public Information Film...

...Warning of the dangers of snacking on dodgy looking mushrooms?

[BlitzKid]

Re: Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

...Warning of the dangers of snacking on dodgy looking mushrooms?

Quite Possibly.

[BlitzKid]

Re: Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

Just gonna bump this back up in case any newer members have any idea... If anyone has even any remote idea as to what the above piece of pure freaky stuff might have been from then your help is much appreciated! I've even got the TV-AM archive searching for this thing, they reckon it was a clip from a feature film but have been unable to find it as yet... Any hints or leads would be great, exorcise the ghost for me!

[Heather74]

Re: Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

I may be way off here, but its ringing loud bells for me the more I think about it. Could it have been a PIF about the dangers of sun cancer, I seem to recall something about the shirt being buttoned back up ie stay safe keep covered up in the sun ???

[BlitzKid]

Re: Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

I may be way off here, but its ringing loud bells for me the more I think about it. Could it have been a PIF about the dangers of sun cancer, I seem to recall something about the shirt being buttoned back up ie stay safe keep covered up in the sun ???

I think you may be onto something there- I've always felt the clip went on for much longer than it would take to unbutton a shirt, so it's quite possible the mother character buttoned the shirt back up after unfastening it. And the whole business of no-one reacting could have been some kind of warning about swimming pool safety, how it's easy to go unnoticed when in danger at the swimming pool. I'm pretty sure now that it must have been a PIF. If so then hopefully it'll show up on YouTube at some point, I've found a lot of memorable 80s PIFs on there.

[BlitzKid]

Re: Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

Giving this old search another go... Still looking for this thing but am fairly certain it was a PIF, given that I've found several PIFs with similar levels of surrealism from the 80s. I was hoping the TV-AM archive would find it but they don't seem to have updated it for a year and a half now, so not sure if that's still in the works... So if anyone has any idea if I'm on the right track with the PIF theory or if it's some obscure TV show I'm looking for, feel free to chip in!

[BlitzKid]

80s advert- mother/boy at swimming pool

I've been searching for some time for this advert from the mid-80s, I believe it was 1986 but possibly '85- I saw it shown as a clip on TV-AM so for years had no idea what it was... Following enquiries I now know for sure it was an advert, I've found several people who remember it but can't clearly remember what it was for... I've been fairly sure for some time it was a Public Information Film (PIF) and have enquired about it before on these boards along those lines- however I've now been told it was an ad for Irn-Bru or Tizer or something- I find this harder to believe than the PIF theory but am following this lead anyway! At least I know for sure that it was screened during commercial breaks, so if we can cast our minds back to about summer 1986, which I'm pretty sure is when I saw it:

The ad featured a bird's-eye view of a busy outdoorswimming pool, and to the left of the screen there was a mother sat on a chair with a little boy in front of her, and she was unfastening his shirt buttons and talking to him as she did so. (I remember her being slightly overweight with short black hair and wearing a black jumper and trousers. The boy was a typical-looking small kid wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.) Anyway, she was talking while unfastening the boy's shirt, seemed completely normal at this point. (The boy didn't say anything- it was just a long monologue by the mother and the boy just looked straight ahead at her the whole time.) But after a while the mother suddenly changed her voice mid-speech to a funny voice, and continued talking while unfastening the boy's buttons, but in a funny voice (I believe from what one person has told me that she buttoned the shirt back up). The boy didn't react to this at all. Then after another few minutes the mother was just lifted out of her chair by nothing, hung in mid-air for a few seconds still in a sitting position (while screaming out still in a funny voice) then fell into the pool with an enormous splash. Most bizarrely of all, absolutely NO-ONE reacted to this- the swimmers at the pool (there were loads of them) didn't acknowledge a thing, and even the boy didn't react- just stood staring straight ahead at the chair as if the mother was still there.

One person has told me this was part of a series of adverts with different things happening, that were apparently quite silly and comical in tone. As mentioned above the latest I've been told is that it was for something like Irn Bru or Tizer, though a few other people thought it was a PIF or safety ad of some kind, presumably about summer safety (i.e. look after children's safety at a swimming pool as it's easy for people not to notice when someone is in danger). I am pretty sure it was summer '86 when I saw it, so it was probably only shown for a few weeks over the summer. Does anyone have any recollection of this, or any similar adverts that could be from the same series? I'd be very grateful for any help!

[Heather74]

Re: 80s advert- mother/boy at swimming pool

I posted on this when you posted first time round. I still seem to think it was to do with suncream or sunburn/ skin cancer and it was a pif. I've looked a few times over the years but I can't find it.

Edit, put the two threads together

[BlitzKid]

Re: 80s advert- mother/boy at swimming pool

I posted on this when you posted first time round. I still seem to think it was to do with suncream or sunburn/ skin cancer and it was a pif. I've looked a few times over the years but I can't find it.

Edit, put the two threads together

No worries Heather I reposted in the adverts forum because I know for sure it was shown during commercial breaks now... Although someone did tell me the other week they thought it was for Irn-Bru or Tizer, going from your own recollections and those of a few other people I've enquired with, I am still far more convinced it was a PIF. I may check with the BFI (British Film Institute) as they have a lot of PIFs in their archive.

I'll continue the search and we'll find this thing in due time!

[BlitzKid_Returned]

Major campaign and appeal to identify and find this still elusive clip (and probable PIF), which is the subject of this blog post:

https://unidentifiedweirdtv.co.uk/20...seen-on-tv-am/

The crew at Scarred For Life, Curious British Telly and History of Advertising Trust are all keen to find this thing and solve the mystery. (Shame that not all the TV-AM archive is public yet, it would be very helpful to be able to browse it and locate this - still, more TV-AM broadcasts are being added to the AP Archive website, so fingers crossed it eventually yields results.) Feel free to share this blog post and comment if you have any recollections or can help us solve the mystery!

[Heather74]

Good Luck, I really hope you find your answer as this is one of the unanswered threads that I still think about from time to time

[BlitzKid_Returned]

Good Luck, I really hope you find your answer as this is one of the unanswered threads that I still think about from time to time

Cheers Heather! You were the first of the small number of people I've found who recall this thing and helped assure me I didn't just dream it, so I'll always at least be grateful to you for that! :-)