Strange clip featuring a mother and boy at a swimming pool

[MiniMort]

Been wondering about this. I asked my mum (I wasn't around in 1986) and she looked at me gone out! Still, seeing as you saw it on TV-AM, I'm assuming it would've been on screens nationally rather than just a specific ITV region.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Irn Bru was nationally available outside Scotland at that point and I'm pretty sure up in Scotland they were in the middle of that 'Made from girders' campaign. Tizer had some very odd commercials like the 'Ize got the Ize' one so it could've been their ad, but I guess the big question is what does any of the recollection have to do with drinks (other than maybe using the pool as another way to stay hydrated).

Was it just a continuous birds eye shot throughout the entire ad?

[BlitzKid_Returned]

Been wondering about this. I asked my mum (I wasn't around in 1986) and she looked at me gone out! Still, seeing as you saw it on TV-AM, I'm assuming it would've been on screens nationally rather than just a specific ITV region.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Irn Bru was nationally available outside Scotland at that point and I'm pretty sure up in Scotland they were in the middle of that 'Made from girders' campaign. Tizer had some very odd commercials like the 'Ize got the Ize' one so it could've been their ad, but I guess the big question is what does any of the recollection have to do with drinks (other than maybe using the pool as another way to stay hydrated).

Was it just a continuous birds eye shot throughout the entire ad?

Thanks so much for responding. I'm always grateful for anyone else who's as curious to find this thing as I am!

Since it was shown on TV-AM it would have been shown in millions of homes over the country, which is why there has to be someone out there who remembers it. I'm skeptical about the soft drinks theory personally, I've seen a fair few ads for these products like Irn-Bru and Tizer, and though some are a little weird or adventurous, I just can't reconcile the scene in this clip with selling soft drinks in any form. Another suggestion is that it may have been an ad for Suncream if Heather's recollection is correct.

It was indeed just the same bird's-eye view of the pool throughout the whole scene, or at least overhead view. The mother and boy were on the far left and I think kind of foregrounded so you could tell they were the focus.

I'm still leaning towards the PIF theory. I wonder occasionally if it may have been one of those weird short art films like the ones that used to be shown on C4 between programmes, but it's very unlikely that TV-AM would have showcased one of those. Since it was shown on TV-AM it's quite likely that, as disturbing as I found it as a child, the clip was supposed to be humorous or wacky in some sense. One suggestion I've had if it was a PIF is that the message might have been to parents "Don't make yourself look silly. Look after your child in the sun". Without a clear recollection we can only speculate, and I really hope someone comes forward who has a more specific recollection, or better still a copy of it!

[BlitzKid_Returned]

A quick message to first of all thank everyone who has joined in the search for this elusive piece of media - this thread and the blog entry linked previously have led to a major search on a Discord server to identify and find this thing, so massive thanks to all who have helped out!

Secondly, we now have a very promising lead that if correct, may help us identify it. A guy in a Facebook forum I asked about this clip in responded with:

"There was an advert for some sort of confectionery, I think, that had some finger-wagging old bat scolding some little kid, who took a bite out of said confectionery, whereupon its magical powers of zaniness sped up the old bat's voice and hauled her off, still finger-wagging and screeching, into the wild blue yonder and the kid grinned...maybe this was an ad in the same series? Wish I could recall the product (it was definite some sort of confectionery bar), that could well solve the whole thing!"

This advert sounds VERY similar to the pool clip and if this guy's memory is accurate, then it could well be an advert in the same series.

So if anyone has any recollections of any similar adverts or this jogs anyone's memory in any way, feel free to let me know and you may well help solve the mystery!