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Story: Advertising

Aunt Daisy

Audio file

Maud Basham, or ‘Aunt Daisy’ as she was known to her radio audience, established her reputation on a daily morning show on commercial radio, soon after the National Commercial Broadcasting Service was established in 1937. In a breathless, enthusiastic manner she would talk about the latest household gadgets and products. Her success was such that she was soon able to set up her own advertising agency. In the image she is shown demonstrating a new vacuum cleaner in the late 1930s, while in the sound clip from her morning show in February 1950 we hear her talk enthusiastically about Cadbury’s chocolate.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/1-015763; F

by Gordon Burt

Sound file from Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Any re-use of this audio is a breach of copyright. To request a copy of the recording, contact Ngā Taonga (D Series – Aunt Daisy’s morning session/Reference number DCDR36).

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Advertising – Radio and other advertising methods, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/speech/22409/aunt-daisy (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 4 March 2010.