From James Bond to a wild wolf, 10 classic television advertisements for Banks's beer

Barring a dramatic change of heart, it will soon be last orders for Banks's Brewery. Owner Carlsberg Marston's has announced that the plant will close next year, its 150th anniversary year. And the beer which made it famous, the much-loved Banks's Mild, will be discontinued as a cask ale at the end of this year. 

As much a cultural institution as a beer, Banks's has also been the subject of some memorable television adverts over the decades, with celebrities such as Noddy Holder and Roger Moore among those who have appeared in them. Here are 10 favourites:

1. X-ray specs

Terry Homer takes delivery of a set of X-ray specs, and finds everything in his native Black Country looks a little bit, well,  different. Apart from his pint of Banks's Mild of course, which is still as clear as ever. As Terry sits down to enjoy his pint, he wonders whether he really needs his new gadget after all... until Theresa Bailey, the object of his desires, walks in.

2. Megastar Roger Moore

One of two adverts featuring Moore, the former James Bond star walks into a pub and bemoans how being a world-famous 'megastar' means he cannot enjoy his pint of Banks's Bitter without being disturbed by fans. A local accosts him at the bar, and insists on paying for his drink, to which Moore responds 'See what I mean? Never a minute's peace'.

3. Pig in a pub

Filmed at the Black Country Museum, this advert shows an archetypal traditional Black Country lad walking around, cradling a pig in his arms.

He falls down a hole which takes him into the future, where it is considered out of the ordinary to take a pig into the pub. Looking for a familiar sight, he spots the Banks's Bitter pump on the bar. His favourite beer 'teks him right back', and he, along with the pig, vanish out of sight, leaving the locals confused.

4. Frozen in time

Another with a time-travel theme sees a worker in a 19th-century pork scratchings factory accidentally becomes frozen in a block of ice, only to be discovered 100 years later. After the ice is removed, he is brought back to life with a pint of Banks's, which is just as good as ever.

4. Wolf on the prowl

A slight departure from the usual comedic adverts, this one features a lone wolf prowling under a full moon around various Wolverhampton landmarks. Across the railway lines, the bridge to the station, beneath the canal tunnel, through the Mander Centre, the beast can't find peace until it arrives at its final destination - Banks's Park Brewery in Chapel Ash.

5. Noddy's platforms

One of at least two adverts featuring Slade legend Noddy Holder, a cartoon version of the glam rock star is enjoying himself train-spotting when the station master informs him that somebody has stolen Nottingham station. Noddy saves the day by lending passengers one of his platform boots to climb over. When the stationmaster asks how he can repay him, it switches to a clip of Noddy sat in a pub with a pint of mild. "Yo can save yer thankses, I'll 'ave a pint of Banks's," he replies.

6. Noddy on holiday

This one is for canned rather than cask beer, and features a cartoon Noddy on holiday enjoying a can of Banks's on Blackpool beach. A seagull with a thick Lancastrian accent asks him about his plans to go back on tour, before seeking his help rescuing an elderly woman stranded out at see on a pedalo.

His jet-powered trousers see him skim the waves to reach her, before propelling his 'distress flares' into the sky to summon the lifeboat. 

"How can I ever repay you," asks the pensioner. It then changes to footage of Noddy in a chair, saying: "Yo can spare yer thankses,, I'll 'ave a can of Banks's

7. Traffic cone collector

David Morgan talks in great detail about his traffic-cone collection, including a stash of 200 he keeps in the loft, hidden from his wife. The interviewer suggests he tries drinking Banks's Mild, 'a balanced beer which is not too bitter, and not too sweet'. The narrator concludes that it is 'a balanced beer in an unbalanced world'.

8. Garden gnomes

Another episode of the 'balanced beer in an unbalanced world' series, this one features garden gnome-collector who reckons the ornaments walked up her drive and demanded to turn her garden into their home. 

"If you sit on this seat, you can be anything you want to be," she explains. "A tree, a kingfisher, a distant galaxy."

Again, the narrator suggests a pint of Banks's might give her a more balanced perspective on life.

9. Banks's in a can

Through the wonders of modern technology, draught Banks's is now available in a can.

10. Banks's haka dancer

A slightly surreal one, this. Deep in rural New Zealand, a group of  Māori tribesmen are performing a haka dance. One of them appears distracted, looking to the sky and thinking about Banks's Mild. It ends with the globe spinning from New Zealand to the West Midlands, with the suggestion that is where the man's heart is.