Wilkins and Wontkins (partially lost series of Jim Henson commercials; 1957-1969)
In 1957, puppeteer Jim Henson was asked by a Washington D.C. coffee company, Wilkins Coffee, to make commercials for their company. The company only had 10 seconds of screen time, so the ads had to be lightning-speed fast. From 1957 to 1961, Jim Henson created 179 ads for Wilkins Coffee. The popularity of these ads sparked the titular characters, Wilkins and Wontkins, to appear in commercials for various companies (Community Coffee, Red Diamond Coffee, Faygo, etc.). Starting sometime in the late 60s, Jim Henson started making commercials in color, unlike the previous commercials which were black and white. The last known Wilkins and Wontkins commercials made were for Community Coffee, made around 1969.
Availability
Out of the 179 Wilkins Coffee commercials, only 97 have been released on the internet. It is unknown how many of these commercials Jim Henson made, let alone how many ads The Jim Henson Company has stored in their archives.
Videos
Lost Commercials
Wilkins and Wontkins commercials that can only be found in images.