Wilkins and Wontkins (partially lost series of Jim Henson commercials; 1957-1969): Difference between revisions
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|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost'''</span> | |status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost'''</span> | ||
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In 1957, puppeteer Jim Henson was asked by | In 1957, puppeteer Jim Henson was asked by Wilkins Coffee to star his then-novel Muppets in commercials for their product. The company only had 10 seconds of screen time, so the ads had to be lightning-fast yet memorable - a problem Henson solved as only he and his creations could. From 1957 to 1969, Henson created 179 such ads for Wilkins Coffee plus many more for other brands, all of which revolve around the early Muppet duo of Wilkins & Wontkins. As of this writing, '''the online archive of these commercials is missing a significant number of the total produced.''' | ||
==Overview== | |||
The basic template for the ads features the relentlessly bright, cheerful Wilkins somehow bringing up his namesake coffee to the grumpy, gravel-voiced Wontkins, who refuses all offers - whereupon Wilkins promptly (and cheerfully) punishes him in various outlandishly sadistic ways, complete with witty quip to camera. | |||
The formula was like nothing that had ever been seen in advertising before, and it was a smash hit... quite literally. Over the course of their long partnership Wontkins stubbornly refused to appreciate the sponsor's product despite being repeatedly shot, stabbed, beaten, blown up, branded, crushed, set on fire, drowned, dropped from heights and - on at least one occasion - run head-first through a table saw ("He always ''was'' a cut-up!"). Even when Wilkins doesn't handle him personally, it's made clear their universe itself is displeased with Wontkins' stance. "Things just seem to ''happen'' to people who don't like Wilkins!" | |||
Although Wilkins himself, contrary to Internet legend, is ''not'' an early prototype of Kermit the Frog (who had already been introduced by name a few years earlier) the popularity of their ads resulted in he and Wontkins becoming iconic in their own right, to the extent that hand puppets of the duo were popular promotional giveaways. They would go on to bring their signature ultraviolence to a number of campaigns for other coffee and grocery brands, initially produced in black and white before shifting to colour in 1966. The last known Wilkins & Wontkins commercials made were for Community Coffee, around 1969. | |||
==Companies== | ==Companies== | ||
*Companies that Wilkins and Wontkins promoted. | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="background-color:brown" | # | ! style="background-color:brown" |# | ||
! style="background-color:brown" | Company | ! style="background-color:brown" |Company | ||
! style="background-color:brown" | Runtime | ! style="background-color:brown" |Runtime | ||
! style="background-color:brown" | # of ads made | ! style="background-color:brown" |# of ads made | ||
! style="background-color:brown" | Status | ! style="background-color:brown" |Status | ||
|- | |- | ||
|1||Wilkins Coffee||1957-1961||179||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially | |1||Wilkins Coffee|| 1957-1961||179||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|2|| | |2||Faygo||1958-1959||10||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|3|| | |3||Nash's Coffee||1958-1961||20||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|4|| | |4||La Touraine Coffee||1958-1962||15||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|5|| | |5||Community Coffee||1959-1969||37||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|6||Martinson Coffee||1959||15||<span style="color: | |6||Martinson Coffee||1959||15||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|7|| | |7||Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio)||1960||Unknown||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|8||Calso Water||1961||8||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | |8||Calso Water||1961||8||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|9||Frank's Beverages||1961-1963||7||<span style="color: | |9||Frank's Beverages||1961-1963||7||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|10|| | |10||Donovan Coffee Company (Red Diamond brand)||1961-1966||13||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|11|| | |11||Kraml Dairy||1962||18||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|12|| | |12||Merita Bread|| 1963||6||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
|13||Dugan's Bread||1962-1963||3||<span style="color: | |13||Dugan's Bread||1962-1963||3||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | 15||Taystee Bread|| 1967 ||9||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | ||
|- | |||
|16||National City Bank ||1960s?||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost''' | |||
|} | |} | ||
==Availability== | ==Availability== | ||
Out of the 179 Wilkins Coffee commercials, only | Out of the 179 Wilkins Coffee commercials, only 135 have been released on the internet; other campaigns are also missing ads, and one is lost entirely. It is unknown how many the Jim Henson Company has stored in their archives. Selected Wilkins & Wontkins spots are currently playing in certain exhibitions, including The Center for Puppetry Arts and the Jim Henson exhibition, Imagination Unlimited. | ||
==Videos== | On June 26th, 2020, YouTuber [https://youtube.com/user/KermiClown KermiClown] uploaded a large collection of Wilkins commercials, including all the ads for Taystee Bread and Dugan's Bread. | ||
==Gallery== | |||
===Videos=== | |||
{{Video|perrow =1 | |||
|service1 =youtube | |||
|id1 =BVoGf1JTVeI | |||
|description1 =Defunctland's video covering the commercials along with ''Sam and Friends''. | |||
}} | |||
===Footage=== | |||
{{Video|perrow =4 | {{Video|perrow =4 | ||
|service1 =youtube | |service1 =youtube | ||
|id1 =LmhIizQQol0 | |id1 =LmhIizQQol0 | ||
|description1 = | |description1 =Probably the best-known compilation of the available Wilkins Coffee ads. | ||
|service2 =youtube | |service2 =youtube | ||
|id2 =HVewx3-9x24 | |id2 =HVewx3-9x24 | ||
|description2 =Wilkins | |description2 =Compilation of Wilkins ads from the official Henson Company channel. | ||
|service3 =youtube | |service3 =youtube | ||
|id3 = | |id3 =Xn8zhYnCjtA | ||
|description3 = | |description3 =Another compilation of Wilkins ads, with title cards suggesting this was an official showreel. (1/2). | ||
|service4 =youtube | |service4 =youtube | ||
|id4 = | |id4 =YekqG7w3qWA | ||
|description4 =Wilkins | |description4 =Second half of the Wilkins Coffee ad showreel (2/2). | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{Video|perrow = | {{Video|perrow =4 | ||
|service1 =youtube | |service1 =youtube | ||
|id1 = | |id1 =HylRESnVEhw | ||
|description1 = | |description1 =Compilation of ads for Nash's Coffee. | ||
|service2 =youtube | |service2 =youtube | ||
|id2 = | |id2 =thBEr14GJgk | ||
|description2 = | |description2 =Compliation of ads for Taystee Bread. | ||
|service3 =youtube | |service3 =youtube | ||
|id3 = | |id3 =JXOa0XXiIsE | ||
|description3 = | |description3 =Compilation of ads for Merita Bread. | ||
|service4 =youtube | |||
|id4 =yiHuBgctbwM | |||
|description4 =All ads for Dugan's Bread. | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{Video|perrow = | {{Video|perrow =4 | ||
|service1 =youtube | |service1 =youtube | ||
|id1 = | |id1 =PFByOGl0_rE | ||
|description1 = | |description1 =Compilation of ads for Frank's Beverages. | ||
|service2 =youtube | |service2 =youtube | ||
|id2 = | |id2 =d5bo9v99tyY | ||
|description2 = | |description2 =Compilation of random ads, including a rare ad for Frank's Beverages (3:44). | ||
|service3 =youtube | |service3 =youtube | ||
|id3 = | |id3 =MV-_EBnRM6Q | ||
|description3 =A | |description3 =Compilation of ads for La Touraine Coffee. | ||
|service4 =youtube | |||
|id4 =RjgjVMfOjko | |||
|description4 =A couple of ads for Calso Water. | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{Video|perrow = | {{Video|perrow =4 | ||
|service1 =youtube | |service1 =youtube | ||
|id1 = | |id1 =6aDVReGsatM | ||
|description1 = | |description1 =Compilation of ads for Faygo. | ||
|service2 =youtube | |service2 =youtube | ||
|id2 = | |id2 =X7Ko-19l1XQ | ||
|description2 = | |description2 =Compilation of ads for Red Diamond Coffee from the Henson Company channel. | ||
|service3 =youtube | |||
|id3 =8ZtoYYcRIvk | |||
|description3 =Compilation of ads for Community Coffee. | |||
|service4 =youtube | |||
|id4 =tpHME7nHMgQ | |||
|description4 =Compliation of ads for Kraml Milk. | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{Video|perrow = | {{Video|perrow =4 | ||
|service1 =youtube | |||
|id1 =KelQ3g6rwis | |||
|description1 =Another Kraml Milk ad. | |||
|service2 =youtube | |||
|id2 =PxQvW7NNmno | |||
|description2 =Compilation of various non-Wilkins Coffee ads featuring the duo, from the Henson Company channel. | |||
|service3 =youtube | |service3 =youtube | ||
|id3 = | |id3 =o5PPK8pJH3M | ||
|description3 = | |description3 =Behind-the-scenes with the Henson team, featuring at least one unknown Wilkins Coffee ad. | ||
}} | |||
===Images=== | |||
*Wilkins and Wontkins commercials that can only be found in images. | |||
<gallery mode="packed" heights="175px"> | |||
== | |||
<gallery mode=packed heights=175px> | |||
Wilkins Brand X color.jpeg|Unknown remake of Brand X ad. | Wilkins Brand X color.jpeg|Unknown remake of Brand X ad. | ||
Red Diamond Cannon.jpeg|Red Diamond - "Cannon" | Red Diamond Cannon.jpeg|Red Diamond - "Cannon" (Storyboard found) | ||
Unknown Faygo Ad.jpeg|Faygo "Jailhouse" ad? | |||
Unknown Faygo Ad.jpeg| | Calso Water Cannon.jpeg|Calso Water - "Cannon" (Clip found from La Choy presentation) | ||
Community Coffee Cigar.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Cigar" (Clip found from La Choy presentation) | |||
Calso Water Cannon.jpeg|Calso Water - "Cannon" | |||
Community Coffee Cigar.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Cigar" | |||
Community Coffee Rocket Storyboard 1.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Rocket" (pt. 1) | Community Coffee Rocket Storyboard 1.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Rocket" (pt. 1) | ||
Community Coffee Rocket Storyboard 2.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Rocket" (pt. 2) | Community Coffee Rocket Storyboard 2.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Rocket" (pt. 2) | ||
Line 124: | Line 149: | ||
Community Coffee Cannon Storyboard 3.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Cannon" (pt. 3) | Community Coffee Cannon Storyboard 3.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Cannon" (pt. 3) | ||
Community Coffee Cannon Storyboard 4.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Cannon" (pt. 4) | Community Coffee Cannon Storyboard 4.jpeg|Community Coffee - "Cannon" (pt. 4) | ||
Merita Bread Brand X.jpg|Merita Bread - "Brand X" | Merita Bread Brand X.jpg|Merita Bread - "Brand X" (Found) | ||
Lolthiswasfrom2020forgotoactuallyputithere.png|A storyboard for Community Coffee ad, "Everybody" | |||
Red Diamond Cheap.jpeg|Red Diamond - “Cheap Coffee.” | |||
Red Diamond Cheap.jpeg|Red Diamond - “Cheap | Tumblr padslhBAaM1wa7o90o1 500.jpg|Community Coffee - "TV Set" (Found) | ||
Tumblr padslhBAaM1wa7o90o1 500.jpg|Community Coffee - "TV Set" | National City Bank.png|National City Bank - "Cannon." | ||
Unknwn.png|A storyboard of an unknown Wilkins Coffee commercial | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
==Also | ==Completely Lost Commericals== | ||
[[The Muppets | *Commercials that are completely lost. | ||
'''Nash's Coffee - Communist Store''' The Wilkins version can easily be found, but the Nash's one is lost. | |||
'''Community Coffee - Everybody (extended)''' The Actual Commercial is currently lost, but a ten-second version of the Storyboard exists, however the extended version is completely lost. | |||
==See Also== | |||
*[[Sam and Friends (partially found Jim Henson puppet TV series; 1955-1961)]] | |||
*[[The Muppets (partially lost series of early TV commercials featuring puppet characters; 1962-1969)]] | |||
*[[Sesame Street (partially lost children's educational TV series; 1969-present)]] | |||
*[[The Dark Crystal (partially found high-quality version of workprint/director's cut of puppet fantasy film; early 1980s)]] | |||
*[[The Power of The Dark Crystal (lost production materials from canceled sequel to "The Dark Crystal" fantasy film; 1982-2014)]] | |||
*[[Fraggle Rock (partially found British co-production of puppet children's television series; 1984-1990)]] | |||
*[[Muppets In Space (lost early drafts of "Muppets From Space" sci-fi family film; 1999)]] | |||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
* [http://fastimages.net/catdv/clip-details.jsp?id=579289 Compilation featuring a newly discovered Wilkins Coffee commercial | *[http://fastimages.net/catdv/clip-details.jsp?id=579289 Compilation featuring a newly discovered Wilkins Coffee commercial.] | ||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
* http://muppet. | *http://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Wilkins_Coffee | ||
* http://muppet. | *http://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Wilkins_and_Wontkins | ||
* http://muppet. | *http://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Muppet_commercials | ||
* https:// | *https://henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/11/111957/ | ||
* https:// | *https://henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/03/313-141969/ | ||
* https:// | *https://henson.com/jimsredbook/2011/12/1213-151966/ | ||
* https:// | *https://henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/08/8-1967-2/ | ||
*http://toughpigs.com//anthmadison01.htm | |||
*http://toughpigs.com//anthmadison02.htm | |||
*http://toughpigs.com//anthmadison04.htm | |||
[[Category: Lost advertising and interstitial material]] | [[Category:Lost advertising and interstitial material]] | ||
[[Category: Lost puppetry]] | [[Category:Lost puppetry]] | ||
[[Category: Lost TV]] | [[Category:Lost TV]] | ||
[[Category: Partially lost media]] | [[Category:Partially lost media]] | ||
[[Category: Historic]] | [[Category:Historic]] |
Latest revision as of 13:33, 26 January 2024
In 1957, puppeteer Jim Henson was asked by Wilkins Coffee to star his then-novel Muppets in commercials for their product. The company only had 10 seconds of screen time, so the ads had to be lightning-fast yet memorable - a problem Henson solved as only he and his creations could. From 1957 to 1969, Henson created 179 such ads for Wilkins Coffee plus many more for other brands, all of which revolve around the early Muppet duo of Wilkins & Wontkins. As of this writing, the online archive of these commercials is missing a significant number of the total produced.
Overview
The basic template for the ads features the relentlessly bright, cheerful Wilkins somehow bringing up his namesake coffee to the grumpy, gravel-voiced Wontkins, who refuses all offers - whereupon Wilkins promptly (and cheerfully) punishes him in various outlandishly sadistic ways, complete with witty quip to camera.
The formula was like nothing that had ever been seen in advertising before, and it was a smash hit... quite literally. Over the course of their long partnership Wontkins stubbornly refused to appreciate the sponsor's product despite being repeatedly shot, stabbed, beaten, blown up, branded, crushed, set on fire, drowned, dropped from heights and - on at least one occasion - run head-first through a table saw ("He always was a cut-up!"). Even when Wilkins doesn't handle him personally, it's made clear their universe itself is displeased with Wontkins' stance. "Things just seem to happen to people who don't like Wilkins!"
Although Wilkins himself, contrary to Internet legend, is not an early prototype of Kermit the Frog (who had already been introduced by name a few years earlier) the popularity of their ads resulted in he and Wontkins becoming iconic in their own right, to the extent that hand puppets of the duo were popular promotional giveaways. They would go on to bring their signature ultraviolence to a number of campaigns for other coffee and grocery brands, initially produced in black and white before shifting to colour in 1966. The last known Wilkins & Wontkins commercials made were for Community Coffee, around 1969.
Companies
- Companies that Wilkins and Wontkins promoted.
# | Company | Runtime | # of ads made | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wilkins Coffee | 1957-1961 | 179 | Partially Lost |
2 | Faygo | 1958-1959 | 10 | Partially Found |
3 | Nash's Coffee | 1958-1961 | 20 | Partially Found |
4 | La Touraine Coffee | 1958-1962 | 15 | Partially Found |
5 | Community Coffee | 1959-1969 | 37 | Partially Found |
6 | Martinson Coffee | 1959 | 15 | Partially Found |
7 | Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) | 1960 | Unknown | Partially Found |
8 | Calso Water | 1961 | 8 | Partially Found |
9 | Frank's Beverages | 1961-1963 | 7 | Found |
10 | Donovan Coffee Company (Red Diamond brand) | 1961-1966 | 13 | Partially Lost |
11 | Kraml Dairy | 1962 | 18 | Partially Found |
12 | Merita Bread | 1963 | 6 | Partially Lost |
13 | Dugan's Bread | 1962-1963 | 3 | Found |
15 | Taystee Bread | 1967 | 9 | Found |
16 | National City Bank | 1960s? | Unknown | Lost |
Availability
Out of the 179 Wilkins Coffee commercials, only 135 have been released on the internet; other campaigns are also missing ads, and one is lost entirely. It is unknown how many the Jim Henson Company has stored in their archives. Selected Wilkins & Wontkins spots are currently playing in certain exhibitions, including The Center for Puppetry Arts and the Jim Henson exhibition, Imagination Unlimited.
On June 26th, 2020, YouTuber KermiClown uploaded a large collection of Wilkins commercials, including all the ads for Taystee Bread and Dugan's Bread.
Gallery
Videos
Footage
Images
- Wilkins and Wontkins commercials that can only be found in images.
Completely Lost Commericals
- Commercials that are completely lost.
Nash's Coffee - Communist Store The Wilkins version can easily be found, but the Nash's one is lost.
Community Coffee - Everybody (extended) The Actual Commercial is currently lost, but a ten-second version of the Storyboard exists, however the extended version is completely lost.
See Also
- Sam and Friends (partially found Jim Henson puppet TV series; 1955-1961)
- The Muppets (partially lost series of early TV commercials featuring puppet characters; 1962-1969)
- Sesame Street (partially lost children's educational TV series; 1969-present)
- The Dark Crystal (partially found high-quality version of workprint/director's cut of puppet fantasy film; early 1980s)
- The Power of The Dark Crystal (lost production materials from canceled sequel to "The Dark Crystal" fantasy film; 1982-2014)
- Fraggle Rock (partially found British co-production of puppet children's television series; 1984-1990)
- Muppets In Space (lost early drafts of "Muppets From Space" sci-fi family film; 1999)
External Links
Sources
- http://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Wilkins_Coffee
- http://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Wilkins_and_Wontkins
- http://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Muppet_commercials
- https://henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/11/111957/
- https://henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/03/313-141969/
- https://henson.com/jimsredbook/2011/12/1213-151966/
- https://henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/08/8-1967-2/
- http://toughpigs.com//anthmadison01.htm
- http://toughpigs.com//anthmadison02.htm
- http://toughpigs.com//anthmadison04.htm