{"id":19669,"date":"2021-05-10T20:38:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T00:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/?p=19669"},"modified":"2026-09-15T20:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T00:40:14","slug":"aweurope-throwback-typhoo-tea-gnu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/aweurope-throwback-typhoo-tea-gnu\/19669\/","title":{"rendered":"AWEurope Throwback: Typhoo Tea Gnu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Heather Taylor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typhoo Tea launched in 1903 by Birmingham grocer John Sumner. Using only the finest tea leaves to ensure great taste, quality, and freshness in every cup, Typhoo was originally sold as a cure for indigestion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 1903, Typhoo Tea has made several significant \u201cfirsts\u201d in the tea community. In the 1910s, Typhoo Tipps were the first brand to be sold pre-packaged instead of loose over the counter. Typhoo was also the first tea brand to introduce a green tea blend to the UK market in the 1960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Today, Typhoo remains one of Great Britain\u2019s favorite teas. However, we would be remiss not to reflect upon its brief, but memorable, brand mascot: the Typhoo Tea<\/a> Gnu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet the Typhoo Tea Gnu<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Gnu was created and developed by Tony Cattaneo and Ron Wyatt at the animation studio Wyatt Cattaneo. This studio famously animated and produced adverts for the Tetley Tea Folk<\/a>, Ribena\u2019s Ribenaberries, Country Life\u2019s Buttermen<\/a>, and more iconic UK brands and their respective characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A gnu (pronounced \u2018g-noo\u2019) is a wildebeest animal. The Typhoo Tea Gnu, however, is slightly more refined in nature. Introduced to audiences in 1976, the Typhoo Tea Gnu sits at a piano and plays a little ditty to introduce himself and the tea brand.<\/p>\n\n\n