I had to have Marmite and PG Tips delivered - it's astonishing how bleak the world can seem when you know you're running out of tea bags.

A related phenomenon arose in the early 1990s when PG Tips released a series of tea-based Pogs, with pictures of cups of tea and chimpanzees on them.

Chimpanzees had been advertising PG Tips (another Brooke Bond brand) since 1956 in the UK, and would continue to do so until the late 1990s.

Thousands of workers at PG Tips and Marmite manufacturer Unilever are preparing to strike for the first time in the company's 80-year history tomorrow in a row over pensions.

Monkey, another popular anthropomorphic animal used in British advertising on products such as PG Tips and ITV Digital.

Before Christmas, Unilever, which produces goods such as Dove soap, Wall's ice-cream, PG Tips and Marmite, was hit by the first ever national strike involving its UK operations after revealing plans for a pensions shake-up.

PG Tips (pronounced Pee-Gee Tips) is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom, manufactured by Unilever UK.

In 2005, PG Tips celebrated its 75th anniversary with special packs, including a limited edition Golden pack and a one-off Diamond tea bag.

Johnny (notably cleaner and soberer than he often plays) and the Monkey character pointedly explains he's not a chimpanzee, he's a monkey, a nod to PG Tips' chimpanzee family.

When PG Tips released the "Special Moments" range (initially "The New Ones"), another advert was released to advertise the "Fresh" one.