Vintage-style mural to promote Dad's Army remake

A huge 1940s army-recruitment style mural has been unveiled in East London – specially designed to look as if it has been in place for decades.

The time-weathered ‘ghost billboard’ took four artists from street art collective Global Street Art Agency 50 hours to create, to promote Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes coming to Gold.  

The 45ft design required more than 250 cans of spray-paint, and was then sandblasted to make it look as if it has re-emerged after being lost to the ages.

Scott Russell, creative director for UKTV, saod: ‘Ghost adverts, original hand painted murals that date back to the 1920s,30s and 40s, can still be seen on the sides of thousands of buildings up and down the country. 

‘The idea, a ghost billboard "found" after years of being lost, fitted perfectly with Gold’s lost episodes of Dad’s Army, along with the creative execution of a 1940s style poster. We hope it’s a fitting tribute to this much-loved show.’

The artwork will be in place until September 2.

Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes re-creates three episodes from the sitcom: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Walker, A Stripe for Frazer and Under Fire. They willaair from Sunday August 25, celebrating 50 years since the episodes were first broadcast.

It was the last time they were seen on TV, as the BBC routinely reused tapes after broadcast and the original recordings of the three episodes are either lost or destroyed.

The remakes use the original scripts written by comedy legends Jimmy Perry and David Croft and feature an all-star British cast including Kevin McNally as Captain Mainwaring, Robert Bathurst as Sergeant Wilson, Kevin Eldon as Lance Corporal Jones, David Hayman as Private Frazer, Mathew Horne as Private Walker, Tom Rosenthal as Private Pike and Timothy West as Private Godfrey.

Here’s a time-lapse video of the mural being created:

Published: 19 Aug 2019