Put your hand up if you remember The Search for the Rowntree adverts in the late 1990s. They featured a boy called Kit searching for the mythical Rowntree, a tree that bears five different fruits. The five fruits represent the five flavours of Nestle´s Fruit Pastilles: lemon, lime, strawberry, blackcurrant and orange.

You can watch the adverts yourself on YouTube:

I was around twelve years old at the time, just the right age for the Search for the Rowntree to capture my imagination. An abandoned treehouse, a secret slide to another world, a shapeshifting raven... These are all things I found wonderfully exciting as a kid. Actually, I still do. In fact, my pants are concealing a boner right now.

But then disaster struck. Nestle CANCELLED the campaign halfway through. There were no more adverts and the story was left unfinished. KIT NEVER FOUND THE TREE.

It also meant my childhood was ruined. I have never been able to look at a packet of Fruit Pastilles again without bursting into tears.

To me, the unfilmed adverts have become as mythical as the Rowntree itself. They haunt my dreams and I fear my soul will know no true solace until I know what happened to Kit and the Rowntree. The mystery drives me like a possessive spirit.

Breakthrough

Recently, I asked my brother if he remembered the Search for the Rowntree.

"Those old shit adverts?" he said. He googled it and roughly three seconds later he found someone associated with the ad campaign: one Alastair Ross. My brother had made more progress in the search for the Rowntree in the space of a few seconds than I had in years.

Alistair Ross's name was all over the Search for the Rowntree, like fingerprints on a murder weapon:

Exhibit #1:

Exhibit #2:

Like a couple of schoolgirls, we nervously contacted Alastair Ross via Twitter…

Hi Alistair, I think you were involved with the ad campaign "The Search for the Rowntree". Everyone else has forgotten about them, but I still think about the ending. What were the plans for the story beyond the fourth advert? By the way, thank you for helping to create such a special part of my childhood.

...and he actually replied!

Hi Paul, Yes, I co-created them with Sarah Naughton (now Sarah Squibb). A change in the marketing team at Rowntree's led to poor Kit being left to search for the tree that bears five different fruit, without a film crew in tow. We had written another four episodes to follow on from the initial campaign, where Kit met new characters who helped him get closer to the elusive tree. I think one of the endings we thought of involved Kit reaching his final destination – a valley full of fruit orchards. He was then puzzled as there were individual trees but not one that bore five different fruits. However, when you saw the valley from the air, five different rivers joined to form one large river. In between each river was an orchard. So it looked like a giant tree. In essence, the Rowntree was a place shaped like a tree, rather than one single tree. Hope that helps your curiosity. We were disappointed we never got to conclude the adventure. As for the actor who played Kit…Google Aaron Johnson – he has done rather well! All the best ALISTAIR

So now we know how the adverts might have ended: with an aerial shot of several orchards shaped like a giant tree. Therefore, in my mind at least, the search for the Rowntree is finally over, after all these years. My brother and I celebrated with a victory cheer next to a print-out of Kit’s face.

We also attached a sign. Unfortunately, it's too blurry to read, but it says, “THE SEARCH FOR THE ROWNTREE IS OVER! 16/4/2016”. (Note that this is LEGAL PROOF that I found the Rowntree first. Therefore, if the Rowntree turns out to be real, then it's legally mine.)

Since then, I've made a website about the Search the Rowntree adverts: www.searchfortherowntree.com. Check it out if you're a sad fucker like me.