The art of the public information ad

Bring back the Tufty Club. Bring back the Green Cross Code. Bring back ‘Charley says’. Bring back ‘Only a fool breaks the two-second rule’. Bring back Vinnie Jones and ‘Stayin’ Alive’. Bring back the Country Code and ‘Always take your litter home’. Bring back public information films. Bring back the Central Office of Information.

For younger readers, I probably need to explain what the hell I am talking about.

Tufty was created for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, and was an implausibly sensible young squirrel whose behaviour (in contrast to the foolish antics of the louche Willy Weasel) gave lessons to children on road sense. At its height, the Tufty Club had two million members. The Green Cross Code was intended for older children, and showed good behaviour being enforced by the Green Cross Man in the person of Dave Prowse, later to find greater fame in the role of Darth Vader (in body not in voice — as no plausible arch-villain can ever have a strong Bristolian accent).