Sid Gibson (Sidney James) is a soap powder salesman who decides what he really needs is some TV advertising. Unfortunately, he’s absolutely broke.
Sid calls upon his friend Arthur Ashton (Arthur Askey) – a make-up man for the non-commercial National Television channel (a thinly-disguised BBC) – who arranges to sneak a plug for Sid’s product – ‘Bonko’ – into a live broadcast of a TV variety show.
The TV plug sends the sales of ‘Bonko!’ soaring but Arthur gets the sack – along with cameraman Jack (Bernard Cribbins) – for breaking the strict ‘no advertising’ rules on the National Television network.
Arthur and Sid then concoct ever more outrageous ways to save costs on advertising by plugging products during live broadcasts such as the Ascot races, a production of Swan Lake at the Edinburgh Festival (where they plug ‘Slap Happy Cake Mix’ for a customer) and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Today, it would be called “guerilla marketing”.
Along the way, Sid and Arthur also help foil a gang of robbers. A host of stage and screen stars of the day appear in cameo roles.
Arthur Ashton
Arthur Askey
Sid Gibson
Sidney James
Martin Russell
Dermot Walsh
Mrs Burgess
Olga Lindo
National TV Director-General
Clive Morton
Sally
Sally Barnes
Assistant
George Margo
Diana
Leigh Madison
Jack
Bernard Cribbins
Anxious husband
Kenneth Connor
Commercial TV director
Lionel Murton
Professor
David Nettheim
Mr Langtree
Tom Gill
Supt. James
Bruce Seton
Assistant Director-General
Richard Caldicot
Gillian Lynne
Herself
The Television Toppers
Themselves
The Penge Formation Dancers
Themselves
Patricia Bredin
Herself
Leonard Weir
Himself
Tommy Trinder
Himself
Evelyn Laye
Herself
Dickie Henderson
Himself
Dennis Lotis
Himself
Sabrina
Herself
Mail Van Robber
Sam Kydd
Switchboard operator
Barbara Windsor
Director
Lance Comfort
