Rebranding and redefining the new corporate image was only one half of the battle for BT. The new corporation now had competition for business on its networks. It needed to find new ways to speak to its customers and create new business on its networks.
In between Buzby and Bob Hoskins, British Telecom ran one of its most successful campaigns with actress Maureen Lipman playing a Jewish grandmother with a heart of gold, Beattie. Memorable Beattie moments including her being reduced to tears by her grandson's singing Happy Birthday, her reluctance to buy a dishwasher as it wasn't good enough for Mrs Jones and her reassuring comments to her grandson Anthony over his exam results in this advert.
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Professor Stephen Hawking, known as the genius scientist who wrote 'A Brief History of Time', suffers from Motor Neurone Disease, which forces him to use a speech synthesizer to talk.
The message of this advert was therefore all the more powerful coming from a man who has such extraordinary understanding of the universe but is unable to communicate it through speech.
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The 'It's for you-hoo' slogan became well-known as a result of this series of adverts. This spoof on The Hunchback of Notre Dame followed a common theme in BT advertising - make a call - show someone you care.
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