Peanuts (partially found sponsorship ads of animated specials based on comic strip; 1965-1970s)
A Coca-Cola advertisement at the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Status: Partially Found
Coca-Cola commissioned A Charlie Brown Christmas which that special included product placement for the soft drink, most notably sponsor ID's with a unique animated sequence.[1][2] Footage of Linus crashing into the Coca-Cola sign exists on YouTube as well as subsequent specials, including reissue tags incorporating Dolly Madison snack cakes. According to TV Guide advertisements and Lee Mendelson's website, the first new special to be sponsored by Dolly Madison with Coca-Cola is He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown.
The end credits music fades early in the current version because "best wishes" were given to the sponsors of that year's broadcasts, although A Charlie Brown Christmas had "Merry Christmas from the people who bottle Coca-Cola".
The original broadcasts to A Charlie Brown Christmas included references to the sponsor, Coca-Cola. Because of Dolly Madison's eventual co-sponsorship of the series,[3] as well as subsequent FCC laws mandating the separation of commercial material from the actual program material,[4] subsequent broadcasts and home media releases removed all references to Coca-Cola products. Broadcasts of the special in later years also had some scenes, animation, and sound effects redone for correction. Snoopy's dog bowl was repainted red instead of white, Lucy now makes a whirring noise when scared out of her psychiatric booth, new animation was placed in scenes where the children dance on stage after the first time to avoid repetition, music was added in the background of the rehearsal scenes, and Snoopy no longer sings like a human in the final carol, amongst others.[5]
Removed from some subsequent broadcasts is a scene in which Linus throws a snowball at a tin can using his blanket. For several years it was rumored the can was a Coca-Cola can.[3] However, a recently obtained copy of the original print disproves this rumor, showing the can was always a generic tin can.[6]
Specials with Sponsor Sequences
| # | Special Title | Air Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Charlie Brown Christmas | Dec 9th, 1965 | Found |
| 2 | Charlie Brown's All-Stars | Jun 8th, 1966 | Partially Found |
| 3 | It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown | Oct 27th, 1966 | Found |
| 4 | You're in Love, Charlie Brown | Jun 12th, 1967 | Lost |
| 5 | He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown | Feb 14th, 1968 | Lost |
| 6 | It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown | Sep 27th, 1969 | Lost |
| 7 | Play It Again, Charlie Brown | Mar 28th, 1971 | Lost |
Found Sponsor Sequences
YouTubers "Robatsea2009" and "spetragl" unearthed various pieces of missing sponsor sequences, but these were soon blocked by WildBrain, producers of Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, despite them having no involvement in the former special whatsoever. The black-and-white copies of these tags surfaced elsewhere on the internet, but the color copies were discovered on a 16mm print and transferred by ParamountCartoons of The Internet Animation Database on July 26th, 2017. A full, unedited print of A Charlie Brown Christmas with the sponsor tags intact was released by Thunderbean as part of their special Blu-ray release Secret Christmas.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Linus crashing into a Coca-Cola sign (unknown, maybe 1965 or 1966), other versions lost except an alternate take from the promo. End credits sponsor message added as a companion (unknown if 1965). The audio from a reissue is found as well.
Charlie Brown's All Stars
Charlie Brown mopes by a Coca-Cola sign (this time with circular red "Drink Coca-Cola" logo)- original in black-and-white and spetragl has a color reissue with the late 1960s Dolly Madison logo. Only a late 1960s reissue exists in collector circles and is the only version in color for the "best wishes" greetings. The end credits sponsor plugs are currently missing but remnants remain due to a visual cut near the end of the credits.
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Although TV Guide list Coca-Cola as the sponsor it is unclear if "Robatsea2009"'s YouTube version is original or the following repeat, as Dolly Madison is added along with Coca-Cola. Chances are it was retaken, as a similar scene exists in a promo. End credits exist for unknown mid-1960s version. The Peanuts characters run around in Halloween costumes by the sign(s) and Snoopy dances.
Gallery
See Also
TV
- It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (found original music recordings of animated Halloween TV special; 1966)
- A Charlie Brown Christmas (non-existent "laugh track cut" of Christmas special; 1965)
Comics
Video Games
- Snoopy Flying Ace (found Xbox 360 dogfight game based on "Peanuts"; 2010)
- Charlie Brown's All-Stars (lost build of cancelled Peanuts PlayStation 2/PlayStation Portable baseball game; 2007)
External Links
References
- ↑ Fox 8 news article on A Charlie Brown Christmas's Coca-Cola sponsor scenes. Retrieved 13 Dec '20
- ↑ Huffington Post article on A Charlie Brown Christmas's Coca-Cola sponsor scenes. Retrieved 13 Dec '20
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Was There Originally a Coca-Cola Ad Mixed Into A Charlie Brown Christmas?"
- ↑ "Children's Educational Television"
- ↑ "A Charlie Brown Christmas - Original print vs. revised version"
- ↑ "YouTube: CBS Color Charlie Brown Christmas Coca-Cola Part 2"