This film is part of Free

Air to Wear

As full of holes as his Aertex shirt, Uncle Jeff’s tall tales are captured in crayon in this animated cinema ad

Advert 1957 2 mins Silent

Overview

Uncle Jeff’s tall tales are as full of holes as his Aertex shirt, but that only makes him more of a hero in the eyes of his niece. This cartoon cinema ad brings childlike drawings to life to illustrate the "cool when it’s hot, warm when it’s cold" claims of the fabric that had been invented in the 1880s. Founded in 1953, the Pearl & Dean name became well established in cinema advertising, but its in-house animation unit of the 1950s was a sadly short-lived delight.

Dave Hilberman, one of the founders of the ground-breaking UPA studio, was brought in from across the Atlantic to set up an animation studio at Pearl & Dean - for which he raided talented artists from a number of other companies. Vera Linnecar was one of those head-hunted, and this film is almost certainly of her design, reminiscent of parts of her 1965 independent short Springtime for Samantha. The rosy period of production was brief, with Hilberman returning to the USA, and Vera jumping ship to become part of the Biographic studio with Bob Godfrey in July 1957.