TV ads from the films are an intriguing insight into marketing trends and cultural dominion.

We’ve been swamped with ’80s film references in recent years, showing how the demographic who grew up in that decade are now the primary consumer target of clever marketing men. BT, Phones4U, Currys and Vodafone have all dabbled in ’80s themes, so put down the Rubik’s Cube and set the Betamax to record as we look at the cream of the crop…

Phones4U recently went with Back to The Future with their new television advert apart of the #futureyou campaign. No doubt we’ll see a remake of the Back to the Future franchise in years to come, but for now, we’ll have to settle for the Phones4U production which features the Delorean and the Hill Valley set; small mercy for those who long for the return of Doc Brown and Marty McFly.

BT’s E.T. advert was a revelation in the ’90s, casting a character we’d become so accustomed to on the silver screen into an advertising role. E.T.’s performance was as measured as ever, and it was disarmingly captivating to see him performing an advertising role. The power of these characters and ideas crossed nicely onto the small screen at a time when a good ad would still get tongues wagging in offices across the country.

Currys and PC World opted to bring the Star Wars legends out of sci-fi retirement for their adverts, with R2D2 typically bumbling around a store along with the enigmatically endearing C3P0. Their other advert involves Robert Webb and the Currys/PC World staff, endeavouring to appease the demands of Darth Vader.

Vodafone recruited a similarly enigmatic Star Wars character, enlisting Yoda to steal the plaudits. As much as Yoda may be the ‘font of all wisdom’, he’s toe curlingly cute and brilliant advertising fodder.

Star Wars is surely the king of all sci-fi films and (although the first film was made in 1977), it was a staple part of ’80s culture. We don’t get to see many of our favourite sci-fi characters outside of their natural silver screen habitat; so seeing them on the small screen is a refreshing treat for some – and sacrilege for others.