Good old Yellow Pages announces final edition after 51 years
Campaigners say the move to digital is ‘forcing’ the elderly online
IT IS the iconic homeowners’ bible which has for decades been a trusty fixture on the telephone tables of every home in Britain. But from next year the Yellow Pages will be consigned to history after more than 50 years, with its final edition to be published in January.
The end of the business directory’s paper-era, and its subsequent move to a digital-only service, was confirmed by its parent company Yell.
Yell said that the paper version of the Yellow Pages was still profitable, but admitted it would not stay this way for much longer.
Richard Hanscott, CEO of Yell, said: ‘‘After 51 years in production, Yellow Pages is now a household name and we’re proud to say that we still have customers who’ve been with us from the very first edition in 1966.”
But last night Age UK bosses warned the loss of the Yellow Pages would be lamented by the UK’S growing elderly population, many of whom do not own a computer and would struggle to look up vital information in its absence.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director, said: “Many older people who are not online will lament the end of Yellow Pages and wonder how to find out the handy information it has provided for so many years.
“The internet undoubtedly brings many benefits, however no one should be locked out of services simply because they don’t use it.
“Those who cannot, or choose not to use digital technology should not be disadvantaged or made to feel like second-class citizens. It’s essential that there are alternatives so that the 4.5 million older people who aren’t online don’t miss out.”
The Yellow Pages’ final editions will be distributed throughout 2018, with the first batch being sent to Kingston and the last being sent to Brighton.
Yell is planning to print 23 million copies of its last edition next year, which it hopes will eventually become a souvenir.
The Yellow Pages was first published in 1966 and soon became a familiar fixture on the telephone tables of every UK household.
It achieved iconic status after a string of imaginitve advertising campaigns. Perhaps the best-loved featured a fictional character called
J R Hartley.
It was first shown on television in 1983 when British Telecom was privatised.
It shows an elderly gentleman, played by Norman Lumsden, asking in several bookshops for “Fly Fishing by JR Hartley”.
No bookshop has it, and he goes home feeling sad.
His daughter saves the day by handing him the Yellow Pages, through which he finds a shop stocking the book. The bookshop asks for his name and he responds: “My name? Oh, yes, it’s JR Hartley.”
Another which aired around Christmas 1992 starred a boy who famously stood on the directory to kiss a much taller girl under a spring of mistletoe.