‘I bet he drinks Carling Black Label’ ad producer dies

Michael Stones, the producer behind the famous Carling Black Label ‘Dambusters’ advert in 1989, has died aged 75.

Stones was a producer at Park Village ad agency (which he founded with some former colleagues from Ridley Scott’s own agency RSA) and was one of the team behind the fondly remembered ad that was part of long train of ‘humorous’ beer adverts of the 1980s and 1990s, often with an historical theme.

The advert riffs on both the real 1943 events and famous 1955 film of the ‘Dambusters’ raid on the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams, in which the ‘bouncing bombs’ were used.

The advert features the British bombers come roaring in over the moonlit water to the mounting horror of a German sentry who has just spotted them.

Rather than running, however, the German ditches his sandwich and rushes down to the water level in the nick of time to save the dam by catching the – suspiciously football shaped – bomb.

He then proceeds to save four or five more in the best tradition of Bert Trautmann, Oliver Kahn or Sepp Maier (and this was of course the absolute peak of Anglo-German football rivalry).

As the final bomber flies off the pilot remarks ruefully if also rather impressed: “I bet he drinks Carling Black Label”.

The advert then finished with a ‘bouncing bomb’ skipping across four pints.

Due to concerns it might be disrespectful to veterans and families of Bomber Command, the advert was not aired on television but it was in cinemas ahead of the feature film and it amused everyone, especially veterans, so much that it eventually was transferred to the small screen as well (although other sources say it was meant only for screening in cinemas).

The advert was directed by Roger Woodburn and created by the WCRS ad agency team but Stones was vital in “getting the whole thing off the ground,” Woodburn later remarked and helped figure out how to get the ball to skip across the pint glasses in a time before computer graphics.

The “I bet” strapline had been used in a series of Carling adverts but the Dambusters version is often considered the funniest and won several awards for its creators.

Stones is survived by his wife and two children.