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
Arthur Ashton
National TV Director-General
Commercial TV director
The Television Toppers 
