Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising
If you’ve ever found yourself oddly sentimental over a vintage cereal box or charmed by a bygone chocolate wrapper, then you’re in for a real treat—no need to check the use-by date! The Museum of Brands, tucked away in Notting Hill, is a time-travelling celebration of packaging, advertising, and consumer culture that’s anything but shelf-ish.
What’s in a Brand?
From soap tins and sweet wrappers to radio jingles and television ads, the Museum of Brands charts the evolution of everyday life through the products that have filled our cupboards, shaped our habits, and branded our memories. It’s a rich, vibrant journey through more than 200 years of consumer culture, and it all began with one man’s collection—Robert Opie, a dedicated historian with a passion for preserving the ephemera of daily life.
Today, the museum houses over 12,000 original items that offer a fascinating window into how society has changed—from the way we shop and cook to the messages advertisers used to catch our eye. It’s the sort of place where a humble tin of beans becomes a historical artefact, and a bar of soap speaks volumes about shifting social norms.
The Time Tunnel: Step Into the Past
The museum’s headline act is the spectacular Time Tunnel, a chronological corridor that takes you decade by decade through the history of consumer brands. Starting in the Victorian era, visitors weave through the roaring twenties, post-war austerity, swinging sixties, digital noughties, and beyond—all through the lens of what we bought, wore, watched and munched.
It’s more than a nostalgia trip. Each section of the tunnel places products and ads in their wider social and political context, helping visitors understand the deeper stories beneath the packaging. What did a wartime chocolate wrapper say about morale? How did television revolutionise advertising? The Time Tunnel gives you all the answers—and a few surprises too.
Expect to see brands you remember, some you’ve forgotten, and a few that make you do a double take. It’s like rummaging through your grandparents’ attic, your childhood kitchen, and a 1980s corner shop—all in one go.
Design, Diversity and Dialogue
While the past is proudly on display, the Museum of Brands also engages with the present—and the future. Temporary exhibitions shine a spotlight on current themes in design, sustainability, diversity, and digital culture. Through these changing displays, the museum opens up important conversations about the role brands play in shaping identity, values, and aspirations.
Recent features have explored everything from eco-conscious packaging to inclusive branding in fashion and beauty. It's a reminder that branding isn't just about logos and slogans—it's about the world we live in, and the world we want to build.
Learning, Listening and Looking Again
The Museum of Brands isn’t just for casual visitors. It’s a lively hub for schools, universities, and professionals who want to dig a little deeper. Educational programmes for all age groups offer a hands-on way to understand branding and marketing, and how they intersect with culture, technology, and ethics.
The museum also runs talks, workshops, and corporate events, all designed to get people thinking differently about the things we so often take for granted. After all, behind every iconic product is a carefully crafted message—and sometimes, a surprisingly powerful story.
A Space to Reflect
After your tour through the tunnel, you might want to take a breather—and there’s no better place than the museum’s peaceful garden and café. It’s the perfect spot to unpack your thoughts and maybe chat about which vintage ad campaign tickled your fancy (or made you cringe just a little!).
Packaging the Past for the Future
At its heart, the Museum of Brands is about more than nostalgia. It’s about memory, design, change—and how our identities are often shaped by what we buy, how we live, and what we leave behind. By celebrating the everyday, the museum makes the ordinary feel extraordinary. And that’s a brand message worth remembering.
So, whether you're a history buff, a design lover, or just someone curious about that old tin of Ovaltine in your nan’s cupboard, the Museum of Brands is bound to wrap you up in its colourful, creative charm. No barcode required.