2017 marked the 75th anniversary for toilet paper brand Andrex and 2018 marks the 46th birthday of the iconic Andrex Puppy. Described as one of the most famous puppies in Great Britain, the frisky Labrador Retriever has spent decades playing with rolls of the nation’s favorite TP from the brand committed to making everyone feel as clean as possible.

What don’t we already know about this mischievous face? Let’s take a look back at his overnight success that took him from scampering around household bathrooms to becoming beloved by families everywhere.

1. The Andrex Puppy almost didn’t happen. The original concept for the commercial campaign was to have a little girl running through her house trailing a roll of Andrex toilet paper behind him. However, television regulators blocked the idea as they considered it to be too wasteful. A Labrador replaced the little girl and the Andrex Puppy made his TV debut in 1972. In the original spot, the Andrex Puppy pulled out a roll of Andrex all throughout the house to advertise the strength, softness, and length of the roll that makes the toilet paper so special and loved by people everywhere.

2. Since the 1972 advert aired, there have been over 120 adverts with 120 puppies that have portrayed the Andrex puppy.

3. Andrex has long been committed to training puppies to become guide dogs. A couple of years ago, the brand partnered with Guide Dogs UK Charity for the Blind and Partially Sighted to raise money to finance training 40 puppies as guide dogs. The money was raised through sales of a limited-edition soft toy Andrex Puppy with portions of the sales going towards the charity.

4. Hey there, animated pooch! Creative studio Framestore made over the Andrex Puppy with a dash of CGI special effects a few years ago. Spoiler alert: the digital version of the Andrex Puppy gets into just as much toilet paper trouble as his real-life counterpart!

5. For Andrex’s 75th anniversary, the company aired a special, wordless advert showcasing footage from early commercials as the camera pans to an older version of the Andrex Puppy watching the TV. Toilet paper quickly unravels towards him and a small Labrador puppy suddenly accompanies the older dog. The pair play around together before they’re joined by the rest of the family with the tagline “Andrex: Loved by families for 75 years” at the bottom of the screen. Here’s to 75 years of Andrex and to the many years to come for the brand and its adorable pup.

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