In 1973, Ridley Scott directed an iconic television commercial for the British bread brand Hovis.
The advert is commonly known as 'Boy on the Bike,' 'Bike Round' or 'The Bike Ride.' It shows a young delivery boy pushing a bicycle loaded with bread up a steep cobbled hill before coasting back down. Its deliberately nostalgic style helped make the commercial one of Britain’s most recognizable advertisements.
A memorable feature is the brass-band arrangement of the largo from Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, often called the “Hovis music.” The boy was played by Carl Barlow, and the commercial was made through Scott’s production company, Ridley Scott Associates, during his early career in advertising.
A common mix-up concerns the setting: although the advert evokes northern England, it was filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset. The commercial helped establish Scott’s visual reputation years before films such as 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner.'