Level: Sub-series
Reference: HAT50/1/128
Alt Ref No.: Hatrecord
Extent: 104 folders, 23 items (10 boxes)
Brand: Oxo
Agency: J Walter Thompson (JWT), London
Product: stock cubes
Advertiser / Client: Liebig's Extract of Meat Co. Ltd; Oxo Ltd
Admin History: The Oxo brand was marketed by Oxo Limited from 1914. Oxo was a variation of Liebig beef extract, which was first formulated by Justus von Liebig in the 1840s. The first production site was acquired at the town of Fray Bentos on the Uruguay River. A company, the Societe de Fray Bentos, Giebert & Cie, was set up to obtain capital and expand the business. Liebig's extract was available in England after the formation of the Liebig Extract of Meat Company in 1865. An Antwerp merchant company, Corneille David, marketed the product in Europe, and it was responsible for the sale of Liebig products in the UK until 1914 when Oxo Limited was formed to take over the marketing.
Oxo was registered as a trademark in 1899 in Europe and in 1900 in England. It soon took over from the original extract, which was still sold, but the brand name Liebig, or LEMCO, was used more in Europe. The cube form was introduced in 1910. 'Oxoid', cultures for bacterial growth, was introduced in 1924 (meat extract was the basis for these cultures). Other Oxo varieties were tried in the 1930s e.g. Oxo flavoured chocolate and toffee, as well as lemonade ('Oxade'), but these did not capture the public imagination. The first Oxo TV advertisement appeared in 1955 and the 'Golden Oxo' chicken stock cube arrived on the market in 1965. Oxo Ltd also joined forces with Rank Hovis McDougall to produce 'Chipmunk' Oxo flavoured crisps, aimed firmly at the children's market.
JWT acquired the Oxo Limited account in 1958 (previously with the G. Street & Co. Ltd agency) and created the highly successful and long-running series of 'Katie and Philip' commercials for the Oxo cube brand. Oxo Ltd (Liebig) merged with Brooke Bond in 1968.