The Andrex puppy makes it to 30 years old

Helped by entertainers and face painters, the Andrex puppy will party with children in four other hospitals through October and November, including Birmingham Children's Hospital, Liverpool's Alder Hay, The Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill NHS Trust, Glasgow) and the children's unit at the University Hospital for Wales.

The Andrex puppy starred in the UK's first TV advertisement for toilet tissue in 1972, in a commercial called "puppy" and has since clocked up more than 100 commercials to become the UK's longest-running consistent television campaign.

Kimberly-Clark, which owns the Andrex brand, switched the advertising for all of its toilet tissue brands dramatically in 1999, moving it out of FCB and into J Walter Thompson globally.

In the UK, where the account is worth around £9m, the business moved from Banks Hoggins/FCB to JWT. The switch to JWT marked a return of the brand to the agency that created the Andrex puppy.

Over the years, the Andrex puppy has found itself rolling in feathers, joining the "Puppy Patrol" and teaming up with animal friends such as a rabbit, a duck and, in one execution, an elephant. As well as other animals, the puppy has also appeared with the likes of former Blue Peter presenter John Noakes and 'Ab Fab' star Joanna Lumley.

According to Andrex marketing manager Victor Geus: "We all have an emotional attachment to the Andrex puppy. It embodies positive qualities such as kindness and trust but the puppy's more obvious appeal is its playfulness and, of course, its cuteness."

The latest Andrex puppy campaign is due to break in mid-October and run through November. It will feature a special national TV campaign celebrating the milestone and will give Andrex consumers the chance to take part in a national on-pack promotion.

The name Andrex comes from the St Andrews' Mill in Walthamstow, London where it was first produced in 1942.

Andrex, which was the first two-ply toilet tissue, sells 1.5m rolls in the UK each day and was the first toilet tissue brand to gain permission to advertise on television. UK households use more than 8.25m miles of Andrex a year, enough to make almost 80,000 trips around the M25 -– should you ever want to.

The brand was granted a Royal Warrant in 1978 to mark recognition that Andrex is a regular supplier of toilet tissue to the Royal households.

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