National Advertising Trust opens new archive in Norfolk

Located deep in the East Anglian countryside, in the south Norfolk village of Raveningham it boasts the world's largest archive of advertising material.

There are collections from Hovis, Vimto, Heinz, ITV, Colman’s, Norwich Union and Start-rite, with many early print advertisements dating back to the 1800s.

And now the History of Advertising Trust (HAT), which manages the archive, has added another 2,000 sq ft to its existing 8,000 sq ft of space.

John Gordon-Saker, executive director, Lord Sharkey, and Tom Knox, chair of the HAT, at the opening of the new archive in Raveningham. (Image: Sonya Duncan)

On Tuesday, May 14, the trust celebrated the completion of Archive 7 – which will house a collection of all UK advertising from 1960 to 2000.

The new archive, known as Ebiquity, adds to the trust's four million artefacts contained in books and folders, on old video tapes and film reels, in huge files and on screens.

Tom Knox, HAT’s chair of trustees, said: “Ebiquity will fill the gaps in our archive over a period that has seen three industrial revolutions - electronic, digitisation, humanisation - and a boom in creativity across all media."

The National Advertising Trust hold their archive in Raveningham, near Hales. (Image: Sonya Duncan)

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The new facility will also have space for brands to store their collections.

John Gordon-Saker, executive director of HAT, said: “Archive 7 will also offer more clients the opportunity to protect their heritage.

"Space is a critical resource as brands re-assess their office and storage needs and Butlin’s, Ginsters, Heinz, Hovis, Pladis and Vimto appreciate the need to preserve their heritage, by entrusting their prized collections and digital assets to our care and curation".

Alistair Moir, deputy director, in the archive at the History of Advertising Trust, Raveningham. (Image: Denise Bradley)

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The archive was formally opened by Lord Sharkey, former advertising industry leader and sitting peer in the House of Lords.

The famous Hamlet photobooth advertisement. (Image: History of Advertising Trust)

He said: “Advertising is a reflection of social history and HAT ensures that issues like colonisation, inclusivity, sustainability and diversity on and off screen are preserved, placing any controversy in context.”

An anti-smoking advertisement from the 1990s. (Image: National Advertising Trust)

The celebration also marked the renewal of HAT’s accreditation status by The National Archives, with the citation reading: “HAT was a very effective and well managed archive with an agile approach to service development and delivery".

One of the Smash Martians from 1973. (Image: National Advertising Trust)