Fun, British brand
Walkers advertising reflects the fun and light hearted nature of the brand. For over a decade, the adverts have been fronted by our brand ambassador, Gary Lineker, who has appeared in the adverts as all sorts of humorous characters, from a nun and a headmistress to a punk rocker and a menacing devil.
While Walkers adverts are known for their cheeky, light-hearted humour, they have also been used to communicate important messages.
As an example, our adverts have been used to inform consumers that Walkers crisps now contain 70% less saturated fat and 25% less sodium than in 2005. Gary Lineker fronted this advertising campaign and, rather than his trademark "No more Mr Nice Guy", he became the source of important health information, informing customers that Walkers crisps are now better for you.
Our Muddy Marvellous adverts also informed consumers that Walkers crisps are now made with 100% British potatoes.
At Walkers, we believe strongly in the importance of responsible advertising. All Walkers advertising is targeted at adults, and has been for several years.
Gary Lineker
Over the last decade, Walkers adverts have become synonomous with Gary Lineker, who has been the Walkers brand ambassador since 1995. Gary Lineker is well known as the ex-England football captain and presenter of Match of the Day.
In total, Gary has featured in 72 Walkers adverts, which have become some of the most recognisable and popular adverts in recent times.
Over the last thirteen years, he has also appeared with a host of iconic British celebrities ranging from Paul Gascoigne, Michael Owen and Vinnie Jones to the Spice Girls, Girls Aloud and Charlotte Church.
A brief history
Everyone has their favourite Walkers advert but there have been a few which have particularly stood out over the years:
"Don't you insist on Walkers crisps?" - 1980s Throughout the 1980's, Ronnie Barker, the hugely popular British comedy legend, teamed up with Walkers with the popular slogan, "Don't you insist on Walkers crisps?"
The slogan was also used in the Just So Jones advertisements, as well as later being used by Gary Lineker.
"There's No More Mr Nice Guy" - 1995
The slogan appeared in the first ever Gary Lineker advert, in which Gary renounced his all-round nice persona (for which he was famous on the football pitch) in order to get his hands on a packet of Walkers crisps. This strap line has been used in many Walkers adverts since and is the best known of the Walkers slogans.
Paul Gascoigne - 1996
Playing on Gazza's notoriety for crying on the football pitch, the advert featured Gazza crying when Gary won't share his crisps with him...
Cheese and Owen - 1999
At the peak of his popularity as a young England player, Michael Owen featured in this advert to promote improved Cheese & Onion flavour crisps, which were renamed Cheese & Owen in his honour.
Following the much-loved formula, the advert centred around Gary desperately trying to steal the Walkers crisps from Michael.
Comic Relief
At Walkers, we have supported Comic Relief for a number of years, reflecting both the fun nature of the brand and our commitment to important charitable causes.
The adverts for Walkers Comic Relief usually involve a number of well-known British celebrities and are always humorous.
Baked Beans/Whoopee Cushion - 2003
We brought out a limited edition of Baked Beans flavour crisps to mark Comic Relief in 2003. The advert involved celebrities breaking wind in Gary's direction as he attempted to steal their baked-bean flavoured crisps. The cast included, among others, Harry Enfield, Emma Thompson and Zoe Ball.
WalkEARS - 2007
Walkers brought out limited edition WalkEARS (comical oversized ears) which could be bought on the Walkers website for £1, with all proceeds going to Comic Relief.
In the advert, a group of celebrities, including Girls Aloud, Russell Brand and Stephen Fry were dressed in school uniform and having fun in the classroom while wearing WalkEARS.
Great British Potatoes - 2007
In this advert, Gary Lineker was with a group of farmers on a muddy farm, singing "Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud". The advert celebrates the fact that British weather is the best climate for growing potatoes and announced our commitment to sourcing all our potatoes from Great Britain.
