Rick Ward takes a look back at the golden era of chip shop ads—and what today’s creatives can learn from them.
They used to be called Chip shop ads.*
The ads that creative’s made up to win a gong or two and put themselves on the map.
So much time, effort and craft went into making these concepts look real.
Photographers persuaded to do a test shot.
Illustrators arms bent to create the perfect picture.
Typographers asked to kern and craft the perfect type. ( I’m pretty sure we spent more time on these ads than we did on the real work.)
Remember these were the days before Midjourney and a Shittystock download.
Before you just dropped your artwork into a poster template and dropped it onto LinkedIn and pretended it had run.
We didn’t stop at just making these ads, we tried our hardest to get a client to buy them or make sure they ran in a paper or on a poster so we could enter them for awards.
Months went into this process to create that brilliant one off that could pick up a pencila Roses Grand Prix or even a Campaign poster awards.
And even if you never went to the chip shop every creative cheated a little right?
Altered the size of a logo or change a headline into the one the client didn’t approve.
Or even added to that one ad to make them a campaign.
These days the chip shop ad feels like a relic.
Now, it’s all about speed. With AI, stock images, and design templates, you can knock out an ad in minutes and post it on LinkedIn, pretending it’s real. The quest for awards has become more streamlined, and the boundary between what’s real and what’s made-up feels blurrier than ever.
The effort that once went into creating a truly standout idea has been replaced by convenience. Sure, AI can churn out concepts fast, but can it capture the emotion, the raw energy, or the spark of collaboration that made those chip shop ads memorable?
Clients have shifted too. They are more data-driven, impression-focused, and less willing to take risks on creative. But even as technology advances, the best ideas still come from people, not machines.
The chip shop ad may be gone, but the spirit of pushing creativity to the limit is still what makes advertising truly great.
Pass the salt and vinegar please.
Rick
(*Credit to Andy Cheetham.)
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