Tea Blog

It might be something of a stretch to say that PG Tips built its success entirely on advertising, but there’s no doubt that its memorable campaigns have played a significant role. Of course, strong marketing alone wouldn’t have been enough without a product that tea drinkers genuinely enjoyed to begin with.

Over the years, PG Tips has produced some of the most recognizable advertising icons in the tea world. If you’d like to explore that history in more detail, see this overview of classic tea advertising icons and this follow-up look at additional memorable tea marketing campaigns. I also explored the subject further in this article on the famous PG Tips monkey characters in advertising.

One of the most recent and recognizable figures in these campaigns has been “Monkey,” a sock puppet character who has appeared in commercials alongside a human co-star for several years. The character has become so popular that news emerged about an unexpected next step: an autobiography.

Yes, an autobiography—apparently chronicling the life of a tea-advertising icon. Initially, this announcement raised some skepticism, especially given its timing shortly after April Fool’s Day. However, information appearing on this PG Tips fan site discussing Monkey’s upcoming autobiography suggested that the project was backed by a legitimate publisher and supported by promotional material elsewhere.

The so-called “long-awaited celebrity autobiography” was expected to be released in September 2013. Promotional descriptions portrayed Monkey as one of the most beloved advertising figures, with a devoted fan base eager to learn more about the character’s fictional life and exploits.

That claim may be presented with a touch of humor, but it’s hard to deny that the character has achieved a notable level of recognition—at least within the realm of tea advertising.

In any case, whether approached seriously or with a grain of salt, the idea of an advertising mascot releasing a memoir speaks to the creative lengths brands are willing to go to capture public attention.

As for future literary ambitions, one can only imagine what might come next—perhaps memoirs from other iconic brand mascots. Until then, tea enthusiasts can at least enjoy a good cup while following along with the latest in tea-related pop culture.

See more of William I. Lengeman’s articles in this archive of tea-related writing by the author.

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