The Smash Martians were a big hit in the UK during the 1970s and early 1980s thanks to their funny TV ads for Smash instant mashed potato. These ads featured a family of Martian robots who laughed at how humans made mashed potatoes the old-fashioned way while they promoted the convenience of using Smash instead.
The Martians’ personalities were developed by accident by the people handling the puppets. They were designed by Sian Vickers and Chris Wilkins, who also created other memorable ad campaigns like the GoCompare opera singer and the Sheilas’ Wheels commercials.
Interestingly, workers at the Ford Halewood factory in Liverpool made unauthorized copies of the Martians using car parts.
Today, you can see three of the original puppets in the National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Other examples are kept at Premier Foods’ Head Office in St Albans.
The Smash Martians remain a part of British advertising history, showcasing the power of creative marketing to capture people’s imaginations.
