In the dog house
Just been looking at a photo gallery from Thursday’s Guardian celebrating 50 years of the Dulux dog. Thought you might like to see them too. There’s this one from 1966, which to my eyes looks perfectly fresh. Those colours wouldn’t look out of place on a Farrow & Ball card.
Then this, from the year of my birth, 1976. Note the poor dog being forced into a bit of fag-end-of-glam Noddy Holder chic. No wonder punk had to happen.
But by 1996 it was all post-Changing Rooms feng shui, dried twig and driftwood nonsense.
For a brief round-up of the dogs that have leant their faces to Dulux adverts over the years click here. One was called Fernville Lord Digby and had his own chauffeur. My friend over at Decorator’s Notebook went to a Dulux event recently and had the opportunity to have her photograph taken with the dog himself. It’s quite the most charming picture. Maybe if you ask her nicely she’ll show you too.
In 1966 we painted the chimney breast in our living room in that pink. It was like living with a giant blancmange in the room and we couldn’t afford to change it, so we were stuck with it for three years until we moved!
It’s not just the colours from the 1966 card that are quite now the typography is too! GG