Top writer pens Oxo ads

Britain's leading comedy writer unveils his latest project on Monday - an advert for granulated gravy.

Richard Curtis, the man behind such hits as Blackadder, Four Weddings And A Funeral, Mr Bean and The Vicar Of Dibley, has employed his talents to come up with the first new Oxo advert in three years.

He agreed to take part in the £3.5million campaign because it gave him the chance to direct for the first time.

Peter Souter, executive creative director of ad agency AMV, said: "Richard thought that between movies he had nothing to practise on, and so he saw this as a great opportunity to direct something which he had a lot of control over."

The adverts, which will debut during Monday's Coronation Street, will be based on a new Oxo family - even though the brand attracted a huge amount of publicity when it announced it was ditching the family idea three years ago.

But this time the commercials are designed to be more up-to-date and funnier that the original, homely ads.

Andrew Slamin, marketing director of Campbell's UK, told the Guardian: "The new family are different without being radically different. They are much more in tune with modern life and are more informal."

Published: 7 Jan 2002