The Book Tower

Whenever the 1960s are mentioned in BBC documentaries, you can guarantee that the same stock footage is going to be used followed by the same Talking Head:

Carnaby Street: a man dressed in a top hat looking through a clothes rack of Jimi Hendrix-style tunics.
Three girls sitting in front of a fountain with flowers in their hair.
People dancing around, peace and love style.
The Beatles singing All You Need is Love on the first satellite broadcast.
Pete and Dud sketch Are you enjoying that sandwich or clip from That Was the Week That Was.
Terence Stamp and Jean Shrimpton at a party or Michael Caine at a party or David Bailey at a party.
A very young David Bowie in black and white with long hair being interviewed about having long hair.
A clip from the very first Coronation Street, featuring a young Ken Barlow.
A clip from Till Death Us Do Part.
Simon Dee introducing Dee Time.
William Hartnell as Doctor Who.
A weird film of Twiggy dancing.
Talking about it: Ned Sherrin or George Martin (boys), Verity Lambert or Joan Bakewell (girls).

It’s just pure laziness. Pop down to the VT library and borrow the 1960s tape again. It will help to convey the feel of the times, because it always has done. Similarly, the BBC will include obvious and quite frankly pointless footage to current news stories:

Footage of people getting pissed in a bar for a news story about binge drinking.
Footage of office workers standing outside in the cold and smoking for a news story about smoking bans.
Footage of someone filling their car with petrol at the Shepherds Bush garage for a news story about rising petrol prices.
Footage of somebody strapping a child into a car seat for a news story about new legislation for car seats.
Footage of people buying lottery tickets and people scratching scratch cards for an item about lottery funding.
Footage of someone sitting in front of a computer and vacantly staring at the screen for a story about Google buying YouTube.

Stock footage is also available for decades other than the 1960s. Although less popular, the VT library still lends out regularly:

1940s:
Winston Churchill waving.
Blitz newsreels.
Talking about it: David Jacobs or Vera Lynn.

1950s:
People doing the twist.
The Queen waving.
Teddy Boys walking down the street, who steal a cloth cap from an old man. They all try it on before throwing it away.
Talking about it: Cliff Richard or Hank Marvin or Tommy Steele.

1970s:
Punks walking down the Kings Road.
Margaret Thatcher waving.
The Pistols on the Bill Grundy Show.
The Last Goon Show of All with Prince Charles laughing.
David Bowie with his arm round Mick Ronson, singing Starman.
Prince Charles and The Three Degrees.
Arthur Lowe saying “Don’t tell him Pike!”
Talking about it: Paul Morley or Tony Wilson (North) Malcolm McLaren or Don Letts (South). Germaine Greer (other stuff).

1980s:
People wearing braces and drinking champagne.
Miners fighting with police.
Ronald Reagan waving.
Den Watts handing Ange his divorce papers.
A man in the back of a taxi with a huge mobile phone.
A clip from the Relax video.
A clip from The Young Ones.
A clip from Coronation Street, with Ken Barlow punching Mike Baldwin.
Huge, stupid-looking computers.
Talking about it: Pater York or Ben Elton.

1990s:
Noel Gallagher drinking champagne and laughing with Tony Blair at the Downing Street party.
Flowers laid out for Princess Diana.
Blur singing Parklife or Country House.
Cherie Blair waving.
Take That.
A clip from This Life.
Prince Charles and The Spice Girls.
Talking about it: Noel Gallagher or Robbie Williams.

2000s:
Too soon to tell. Probably people wearing woolly hats and iPods, or the Queen wearing a woolly hat and an iPod, or Prince Charles looking at YouTube (The Three Degrees or The Spice Girls) and waving.
Talking about it: Russell Brand or Russell T. Davies or Mike Baldwin.