{"id":19687,"date":"2021-04-05T20:50:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T00:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/?p=19687"},"modified":"2026-09-15T20:52:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T00:52:01","slug":"how-the-tetley-tea-folk-made-a-comeback-with-uk-audiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-the-tetley-tea-folk-made-a-comeback-with-uk-audiences\/19687\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Tetley Tea Folk Made a Comeback with UK Audiences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

For tea enthusiasts throughout the UK, the tagline \u201cThat\u2019s better. That\u2019s Tetley\u201d has long been associated with the delicious taste of Tetley Tea<\/a>. Tetley\u2019s tea heritage has been producing delicious cuppas for over 180 years! This tea also evokes the memory of the Tetley Tea Folk, a whimsical crew of characters that represent the tea brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since 1973, animated versions of the Tea Folk<\/a> \u2014 including Gaffer, Sydney, Tina, Gordon, and Maurice \u2014 have been appearing in Tetley advertisements. However, after 28 years of loyal service, the Tea Folk made their last ad campaign appearance in 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The abrupt absence of the Tea Folk massively impacted the Tetley Tea brand. Tea sales declined<\/a> less than a year after their campaign ended. Fans also mailed their complaints to Tetley. Over 10,000 of these inquiries reportedly asked where the Tea Folk were and when they would return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to ax the Tea Folk was quickly reversed by Tetley. In 2010, Gaffer, Sydney, and the rest of the crew made a delightful comeback to audiences that joyfully welcomed their return. The Tea Folk comeback is a wonderful example of the impact that beloved brand mascots have on consumers and how consumers can keep these characters, and their legacies, thriving through the decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning to Animate the Original Tea Folk Campaigns<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Who better understands the Tea Folk than the animators that worked on the brand\u2019s original campaigns? I spoke with animator and illustrator Richard Ollive<\/a>. Ollive spent 15 years of his career animating the Tea Folk and looks back at the job with fond memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A graduate of the Chelsea School of Art, Ollive discovered he had a talent for animation when he was nearly 30 years old. He began painting backgrounds and quickly found himself employed full-time at Dragon Animation. Ollive learned everything about the craft of animation from Sergio Simonetti, the gifted animator that also ran the studio. He spent the first 10 years of his career animating through what are now considered old school animation techniques. Animation was done through hand drawing on paper, hand tracing and painting on cell, and shooting against watercolored backgrounds frame by frame on a rostrum camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ollive recalls that in 1986 or 1987, he was head-hunted to replace Tony Cattaneo at the animation studio Wyatt Cattaneo. This was the studio that animated and produced the Tetley Tea Folk commercials. Cattaneo was the studio director and had plans to retire at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The plan was for Ollive to act as an understudy and understand how to retain Cattaneo\u2019s clients when he had gone. Some of these clients included Ribena\u2019s Ribenaberries, Country Life Butter\u2019s The Buttermen, and the Tetley Tea Folk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI sat at a desk next to Tony\u2019s and worked closely with him for the next two years,\u201d Ollive says, reflecting on the immense presence of Tony and his partner Ron Wyatt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTony was a giant within the industry. He had a quite spectacular gift in that everything he drew or animated had enormous charm and was in itself an expression of his personality. Ron was an elegant, tougher, equally charming man. He was probably one of the best animation directors you could meet, so the two of them were a very formidable partnership. I learned an enormous amount from them both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cloth Caps and Carpet Slippers: the Tea Folk\u2019s Humble Look<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n