ADLETS LTD

(1923-1930)

Adlets Ltd started out as the proposed London subsidiary of the Australian animation company Cartoon Filmads, which was started in 1917 by artist and animator Harry Julius as an extention of the Smith and Julius advertising company he had formed in 1906 with fellow artist Sydney Ure-Smith.

Julius's experience in using artwork for advertising meant his films made their sales pltch succinctly, no matter how whimsical the idea. Cartoon Filmads proved a great success, and Julius opened offices not only across Australia and New Zealand but also in Asia and the Middle East, with the itinerant Australian music hall comedian and theatrical manager Bert Leywood acting as managing agent, as he and his wife toured Java, India and Singapore. Presumably the offices acted as agents, with the films being made at the studio in Sydney.

Julius used the cutout method of animation, and had patented it in Australia to reduce competition. When, in 1921, fellow Australian artist David Barker patented a rotoscope method for creating smooth animation Julius seized the opportunity to control this patent as well by offering Barker a job as producer. Before WWII Australia was part of the British Empire, and Australians were British Nationals. Julius planned to open an office in London, and in August 1921 he registered (in Sydney) a new company, Cartoon Filmads (Britain) Limited

"To operate under licence in Great Britain and Ireland (but not elsewhere) Barker's invention for an improved method of making animated cartoon film advertisements, and display in cinematograph and variety theatres by means of films, prepared by such a method, etc."

Bert Leywood and his wife and son sailed from Calcutta to London, arriving 19 November 1921, meeting up with Albert E Lake, managing director of Cartoon Filmads and a director of the new company, and David Barker, the producer, to set up the new studio.

In April 1922, under 'New Companies', The Bioscope published the details of Cartoon Filmads (Britain) Limited, noting it had been registered in Sydney the previous August. New details reported were that Leywood was now one of the directors, and the registered office for Cartoon Filmads (Britain) Limited was Bank Buildings, 20 Kingsway WC2.

On Saturday 13 May 1922 the syndicated film news column Cinema Notes. By "Looker-On", which was carried by local newspapers across the UK, led with an item remarking that while art has long been an prominent part of advertising, this has not been the case in the cinema, where it has been limited to the generally unexciting slides projected durng the interval and continues:

Next month, however, we are to see a startling development in the exposition of artistic advertising; in fact, it is a departure which will probably revolutionise the existing methods of publicity in this country.
[...]
Already the work of "Filmads Ltd." has been generously accepted in America, Australia, India and the Far East, and now Great Britain is to witness the wonders of what is sure to prove a popular publicity campaign.

After describing one of the cartoon ads shown at a recent private demonstration the item concluded:

Personally I think the public and keen business men will be especially keen on this development in film enterprise, and I shall be pleased to discuss the matter further at a later date with those interested.

But it was not Filmads (the parent company had now dropped "Cartoon" from its name – although this was still its principal output it was now also producing some live-action films) that would be the company offering this development of film enterprise to Britain's "keen business men".

On 8 December 1922 a company called Cinads Ltd had been formed, taking over the business and assets of Cinads, a non-limited concern producing advertising films. The chairman of this new company was L T M Pennington, and the other directors were Beaumont Alexander, Percy Athos, Edward Cook and Frederick Hessenberg Wright, company secretary. The registered office had been Cinads' premises at 191 Wardour Street, but a week after the registration it was changed to 20 Kingsway, the registered office of Cartoon Filmads (Britain) Limited.

Captain Lewis Theodore Marmion Pennington, a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I, whose prime interest was designing yachts, seems to have been trying to secure a place in the advertising film market: he had also incorporated a company called Glimpsograph Ltd with directors R G Hunter, L T M Pennington, B Alexander, Mrs E H A Edgerton and F H Wright, to exploit an invention of that name, perhaps a projection device for shop windows or other display venues. Beaumont Alexander was an Australian agent, impressario and publicist, and Percy Athos was an Australian skater and juggler; both had come to settle in London. In May 1922 the Australian magazine Everyone's Variety had reported that Percy Athos had left show business and joined up with Bert Leywood, who "has the rights to Cartoon Filmads in many countries." It would seem that Pennington wanted to takeover Cartoon Filmads (Britain) as well.

On 19 January 1923 the following advertisement appeared in the Situations Vacant column of the Liverpool Daily Post:

ADLETS, CARTOON FILM ADVERTISING SERVICE, require for their theatrical and cinema advertising department
FIRST CLASS CANVASSERS,
used to soliciting orders for theater and cinema advertising; only men with experience and who are money-earners need apply: this is an exceptional opportunity for men desirous of improving their present positions. —Apply, by letter only, with references from last employers, Adlets Cartoon Film Advertising Service 24, New Oxford-street, London, W.C.

24 New Oxford Street appears to be an accommodation address: a previous company run by Pennington had used it in 1920 to recruit models for advertising films. Presumably this ad appeared in other provincial cities as well.

Finally, on 6 July 1923, the company Adlets Ltd was registered "to establish companies and associations for the prosecution or execution of undertakings, works, projects or enterprises in cartoon flm advertisements, in advertising signs of all descriptions, and kinematograph works in England or elsewhere. etc." The directors were L T M Pennington, B Alexander, E Cook, T E M Oakley, Albert Edmund Leywood (Bert Leywood's full name), David Barker and F H Wright.

An agreement dated 20 December 1923 and filed in the company’s register describes the sale by Leywood (the Vendor) to Adlets Ltd (the Company) of the name and business of "Adlets" for the sum of £2998, to be paid as an allotment of shares, explaining that:

AND WHEREAS the Vendor is the registered owner of the name of "Adlets" and has control of a circuit of theatres in the Far East, Egypt, The Argentine and other territories AND WHEREAS the Vendor agrees to hand over to the Company all his rights for the production of the films necessary for shewing in these various territories and for the manufacture of all films used on the screens of theatres and elsewhere together with the exclusive right to the use of the name "Adlets" AND WHEREAS the Company has been formed with a nominal oapital of Five thousand pounds divided into Two thousand cumlative seven per centum preference shares of One pound each and three thousand ordinary shares of One pound each for the purpose inter alia of acquiring the said business NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED AND DECLARED as follows that is to say : -
THE Vendor shall sell and the Company shall purchase [...] first the goodwill of the said business with the exclusive right to the use of the name of "Adlets" as part of the name of the Company or otherwise as the Company may think fit, Second All manufacturing rights and the business as manufacturer of films used on the screens of theatres and elsewhere belonging to and carried on by the Vendor at various theatres in Great Britain, the Far East, Egypt, The Argentine and elsewhere and Thirdly Any book debts owing to the Vendor and the full benefit of all pending contracts and engagements to which the Vendor is or may be entitled in connection with the business.

This seems to mean that Leyland had secured the agencies that he had set up to acquire and distribute advertising work for Cartoon Filmads in his control under the name "Adlets". Unable to find the registration of this name I cannot tell if he had done this at the the time, or whether it was arranged later, in 1922 when he was in London, in order to acquire these agencies for Pennnington. Nor do I know whether Julius and Filmads had any involvement in or knowledge of Leyland's arrangement with Pennington.

Access to these agencies is presumably why the initial logo for the company bore the words "Adlets circles the world."

Adlets Ltd was closely allied to Cinads Ltd: although they advertised separately they shared offices at 20 Kingsway. Cinads Ltd had two telephone lines, one of which was also used by Adlets Ltd. The difference seems to have been that Cinads Ltd specialised in very short advertisements for local businesses – the movie equivalent of the advertising slide show, animated to the degree that the lettering wiped on in various ways – whereas Adlets was making longer and more expensive cartoon films for national manufacturers, which could have local dealers' names added for a small fee. Adlets had a studio at 58-61 Fetter Lane EC, where David Barker worked, assisted by Roland H Kemp, one of many young men trying unsuccessfully to break into the film business. Kemp worked for Adlets for seven years, as variously, according to his own account, "scenarist, cameraman, art director, production manager, director, dialogue writer, title writer, actor, model maker, carpenter and electrician", all the time applying for jobs with other production companies without success.

Among Adlets' early productions were commercials for Gibbs Dentifrice, Clark's Creamed Barley, Eno's "Fruit Salt", The Durant Motor Car, LMS Railway, Hennessey's Brandy and Sandeman Port. In 1924 Shell commissioned a commercial based on their press advertising, which included a competition to name the central motorist character, who was intended to become a figurehead for Shell products. A set of fourteen posters featuring the character were created by H M Bateman, and compiled in a booklet, Mr _ _ _ _ Goes Motoring, and this provided the basis for the commercial. Adlets recognised the value of Bateman's name and he was subsequently hired to design a commercial for Kodak's pocket camera. On Saturday 20 December 1924 the Worthing Herald carried the following story:

ENTERPRISE!
MODERN ADVERTISING BY BY A LOCAL BUSINESS FIRM
     Many of those who have visited the Picturedrome this week have congratulated Messrs. Loader's Photo Stores, of Chapel-road, on their excellent and entertaining advertisement, "The Boy Who Would Make Pictures."
     We shall always give ouir hearty support to any movement which aims at combining business and pleasure and, in regard to this particular advertisement, we entirely agree with an article in the "Referee," which says:—
     "One of the most interesting forms of modern advertising is that in which humour and publicity are cleverly blended in a cartoon film. The first of an entirely new series of cartoon films by Mr. H. M. Bateman, and animated by Mr. David Barker, patentee of sundry improved methods of producing such films, has been issued by Adlets, Ltd., who also propose to issue a seriers of cartoons by Mr. Heath Robinson. Mr. Bateman's first effort is called "The Boy Who Would Make Pictures," and amusingly depicts the pleasures of possessing a Kodak."

The story was, of course, supplied by Adlets, and versions of it appeared in local papers across the UK, with the details of a local dealer given where applicable. There is no record of any further Bateman films, and although Heath Robinson did design a cartoon advertising film, for the Amplion wireless loudspeaker, but the fluid animation is unlike Barker's style, so it may have been made one of Adlets' compeditors.

By 1926 Cinads and Adlets were facing fierce competition from newly-formed companies such as Publicity Films, Publicity Pictures and Younger's Advertising Service. It would seem to be the case that any profits from Adlets were being used to prop up Cinads, and at the end of 1927 Barker, whose wife had already taken their young sons back to Australia, decided it was time call it a day and resigned his directorship. Leywood approached Younger's with a proposal: they should set up a company to take on national advertising, and he would bring with him their clients, the largest of which was Lever Brothers, for whom Adlets had been successfully advertising Persil washing powder. On 13 January 1930 the company National Film Corporation Ltd was registered, with Leywood as managing director. The owners of Younger's Advertising Service were also on the board, and the company shared Younger's address at Palace House, 128 Shaftesbury Avenue. Without Barker, they primarily made live-action advertisements, with director Anthony Asquith hired to make the Persil films.

On 3 May 1930 the registered offices of both Adlets and Cinads moved from Kingsway to 18 Charing Cross Road. Adlets Ltd seems to have ceased trading by the end of 1930, and was automatically removed from the Companies Register in August 1932.

Filmography

Links to Other Sites

BFI Player: Mr _ _ _ _ Goes Motoring Video of the Shell commercial animated by David Barker, based on the drawings of H M Bateman.

BFI Player: The Boy Who Wanted to Make Pictures Video of the Kodak commercial designed by H M Bateman and animated by David Barker. The opening caption, P.C.T. Pictorial indicates it was being shown in a cinema belonging to the Provincial Cinema Theatres chain.

BFI Player: Looking Ahead Video of one of the Persil commercials animated by David Barker.

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