Cinema advertising and the Sea Witch ‘Lost Island’ film (1965)

Cinema advertising films have for many decades constituted an important element of British cinema programmes, yet they remain relatively under-researched. This article examines the production, distribution and reception of one such film, a 90-second mini-epic called ‘Lost Island’, which was made in 1965 to promote Sea Witch hair dyes. As well as outlining the technological and experiential aspects of the cinema and cinemagoing that continued to make film an attractive medium for advertisers even after the advent of mass television ownership, the article explores the success of the ‘Lost Island’ film and its eventual transmission on commercial television in the United Kingdom. As such, an investigation of ‘Lost Island’ allows for an assessment of the appeal of the cinema in the mid-1960s, and also the appeal of the cinema relative to other advertising media in the same period.