Sennitt's Ice Cream: with Graham Kennedy (1956)

The 3UZ morning show with Nicky and Graham was only broadcast in Melbourne so this cinema ad would have only played on screens in Melbourne cinemas. It is believed to be the earliest known surviving footage of Kennedy and perhaps the only footage of Nicky. Nicky was one of the first radio announcers to be signed up for television. It was announced in The Argus newspaper on 23 August 1956 that he would host the GTV 9 live children’s session but he died suddenly of a heart attack on 8 September 1956.

In the ad, Nicky plays a thirsty Foreign Legionnaire, lost in the sand dunes, while Kennedy is a pantomime genie dressed in a tutu, wig and tiara. Nicky’s three wishes culminate in a polar bear delivering Sennitt’s ice creams (the logo for the Melbourne-based ice-cream company was a polar bear).

There follows footage of a hurdles race, a rowing competition and scouts at a jamboree enjoying ice creams. Herschells Films, who produced this ad, possibly used stock footage from productions they had made including a promotional film bidding for Melbourne to host the 1956 Olympics and a documentary on the 5th Pan Pacific scout Jamboree which was held at Clifton Park outside of Melbourne in December 1955 and January 1956. The last scene shows Graham and Nicky with a 3UZ microphone, to reference their popular radio program. 

Notes by Maryanne Doyle