Vol. 18: #19 • Famous Advertising Icons

from Vol. 18: #19 • Famous Advertising Icons • (5-8-2022) Tidbits of Coachella Valley

We’ve all seen these iconic characters in ads and television commercials for years, and most of us can easily match them with the brands and products each one touts and praises. This week, Tidbits digs a little deeper into their history with some of the interesting stories behind them.

Charlie Tuna • StarKist Tuna

• Henry Nemo was a jazz composer and Cotton Club musician credited as the creator of the jive music genre. So what does Nemo have to do with tuna fish? Tasked with creating an ad campaign for StarKist tuna, account exec Tom Rogers with the Leo Burnett ad agency, designed a hip, cool beatnik-style fish with a beret and trendy shades, modeling Charlie the Tuna after his good friend, Nemo.

**Starting in 1961, StarKist Tuna's "Charlie Tuna" prided himself with his "good taste."**

• Charlie Tuna felt he had “good taste,” believing himself to be the perfect catch for StarKist. Throughout his 85-commercial career, which began in 1961, Charlie was always rejected with a note on a fish hook reading, “Sorry, Charlie.” The point of the message was that StarKist wasn’t looking for tuna with good taste, but rather for tuna that tastes good. “Sorry, Charlie” and “Tell ‘em Charlie sent ya” are among the most recognized advertising slogans in history. Charlie’s ad campaign was retired in the late 1980s.

Mr. Motormouth • Federal Express

• John Moschitta, Jr. is known as “Mr. Motormouth,” a nickname attained from his 1981 ads for Federal Express. He appeared in more than 100 commercials as “the fast-talking guy,” and for several years held the Guinness record by rattling off about 600 words per minute.

**John Moschitta, Jr. aka "Mr. Motormouth," in Federal Express' 1981 tv commercial.**

Mr. Whipple • Charmin

• We were admonished by Mr. Whipple, “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin!” from 1964 to 1985. This fictional supermarket manager was played by Dick Wilson, whose previous credits included several 1960s and 1970s sitcoms. Born in England in 1916 as Riccardo DiGuglielmo, he moved to Ontario, Canada as a young child.

**Actor Dick Wilson in his long-standing role as Mr. Whipple, in Charmin's tv commercial campaign.**

• At 15, Wilson was working at a local radio station. At 16, he taught himself to fly, and began flying supplies to remote Canadian mining camps, experience that made him eligible for military flight training, followed by a stint as a World War II bomber pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

• Wilson appeared in more than 500 commercials touting the benefits of Charmin bath tissue. A 1978 survey revealed that his face was the third-most known in America, beating out then-President Jimmy Carter. Only Richard Nixon and evangelist Billy Graham were more recognizable than Mr. Whipple. It seems almost ironic that his interviews for the part were held in Flushing, New York.

Madge the Manicurist • Palmolive

• Actress Jan Miner was Madge the Manicurist for 27 years of television commercials for Palmolive dishwashing liquid. Miner had already enjoyed a very successful stage, radio, film, and television career before the commercials had her telling her clients that Palmolive “softens hands while you do the dishes” as she used the product to soak their hands during their manicure appointments.

"WHERE'S THE BEEF?" • Wendy's

• Clara Peller was a real manicurist for 35 years at a Chicago beauty salon. She was discovered by an ad agency when she was 80 years old, and was chosen to star in a Wendy’s hamburger commercial with two other elderly ladies beginning in January of 1984. Clara’s three-word line consisted of her demanding, “Where’s the beef?” as she and the others prepared to bite into a competitor’s hamburgers. The company experienced a 31% jump in sales the year after Clara’s commercials first aired.

**Starting in 1984, 80-year-old Clara Pellar asked, "Where's the beef?", in her iconic role in Wendy's tv commercials.**

Progressive Insurance's "Flo"

• There are likely very few who aren’t familiar with Stephanie Courtney’s face. Her first TV commercial was a small role in a Bud Light ad that aired during the Super Bowl in 1998. Since then, she has appeared in 11 movies and dozens of guest spots on television series. But we really know her best in her role as Flo of Progressive Insurance ad fame, a gig she’s had since 2008. In addition to her many acting credits, Stephanie holds a degree in English from New York’s Binghamton University.

Chef Boy-ar-dee"

• Hector Boiardi began working in restaurant kitchens in Italy at age ten. In 1914, at 16, Hector arrived at Ellis Island and started a job in the kitchen at New York City’s Plaza Hotel, where he worked his way up to head chef. After a move to Cleveland in 1924, Hector opened his first restaurant, Il Giardino d’Italia, or “Garden of Italy.” His pasta dishes became so popular, customers asked for milk bottles of his spaghetti sauce to take home.

• By 1928, Boiardi had opened a factory to meet the demands. The products’ labels featured Hector’s picture in his chef’s hat, along with a new and easier to read and pronounce brand name, “Chef Boy-ar-dee.” During World War II, Boiardi developed field rations for the troops, and by the end of the war, his annual sales exceeded $20 million. Although he sold the company in 1946, he remained a consultant for more than 30 years. At the time of his death in 1985, annual sales of Chef Boy-ar-dee products grossed more than $500 million.

**The logo used on Chef Boyardee's present-day packaging still bears an illustration of Hector Boiardi.**

Morris the Cat • 9 Lives Cat Food

• A Chicago animal shelter was the source of the seven-year-old large orange tabby cat known as Morris, the face of 9 Lives cat food. Dubbed “the world’s most finicky cat,” the original Morris appeared in 58 TV commercials from 1969 to 1978. The second Morris took over in 1979, and to date there have been three different felines in the role.

Juan Valdez • Columbian Coffee

• The fictional coffee farmer, Juan Valdez, has been touting the flavor of Colombian coffee since 1958. The original actor, Cuban native Jose Duval, had the role until 1969. After migrating to America at age 20, Duval set his sights on a career in music and theater. He appeared at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, then transitioned to other venues, including theater roles in “The King and I” and “South Pacific.”

• In 1969, Duval was succeeded by an actual Colombian coffee farmer, Carlos Sanchez, who was also an accomplished artist. Sanchez held the Valdez role until 2006, when he retired and actor Carlos Casteneda took over the part.

Mrs. Olson • Folgers Coffee

• Speaking of coffee, do you remember the fictional Scandinavian housewife, Mrs. Olson, who was the expert on the perfect cup of coffee? Actress Virginia Christine boasted about “mountain-grown coffee” because “it's the richest kind!” She wasn’t just a coffee peddler – she had roles in close to 60 movies and scores of television appearances. The actress’ hometown of Stanton, Iowa honored her by building the community’s water tower in the shape of a giant coffee pot.

The Marlboro Man

• The Marlboro Man became a popular fixture in ads for the cigarette brand beginning in 1954. Marlboro's goal was to project a rugged cowboy image that embodied the sense of masculinity, adventure and physical strength that men viewing the ads wanted for themselves. The first Man was William Thourlby, a model who happened to be a nonsmoker and pretended to do cowboy tasks in the TV commercials. But the ad agency didn’t feel he was authentic or “rugged” enough, so they went instead after authentic rodeo cowboys and ranch hands.

• Over the years the part was played by six other men who fit the masculine role that Marlboro wanted to project. The ad campaign was a huge success, increasing sales by $15 billion a mere three years after the Marlboro Man first appeared in commercials. It ran until the federal ban on tobacco advertising went into effect in 1971. □