Wilkins and Wontkins (partially lost series of Jim Henson commercials; 1957-1969)

Wilkins (right), and Wontkins (left).

Status: Partially Lost

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

Defunctland's video covering the commercials along with Sam and Friends.

Footage

Probably the best-known compilation of the available Wilkins Coffee ads.

Compilation of Wilkins ads from the official Henson Company channel.

Another compilation of Wilkins ads, with title cards suggesting this was an official showreel. (1/2).

Second half of the Wilkins Coffee ad showreel (2/2).

Compilation of ads for Nash's Coffee.

Compliation of ads for Taystee Bread.

Compilation of ads for Merita Bread.

All ads for Dugan's Bread.

Compilation of ads for Frank's Beverages.

Compilation of random ads, including a rare ad for Frank's Beverages (3:44).

Compilation of ads for La Touraine Coffee.

A couple of ads for Calso Water.

Compilation of ads for Faygo.

Compilation of ads for Red Diamond Coffee from the Henson Company channel.

Compilation of ads for Community Coffee.

Compliation of ads for Kraml Milk.

Another Kraml Milk ad.

Compilation of various non-Wilkins Coffee ads featuring the duo, from the Henson Company channel.

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.

Unknown remake of Brand X ad.
Red Diamond - "Cannon" (Storyboard found)
Faygo "Jailhouse" ad?
Calso Water - "Cannon" (Clip found from La Choy presentation)
Community Coffee - "Cigar" (Clip found from La Choy presentation)
Community Coffee - "Rocket" (pt. 1)
Community Coffee - "Rocket" (pt. 2)
Community Coffee - "Rocket" (pt. 3)
Community Coffee - "Cannon" (pt. 1)
Community Coffee - "Cannon" (pt. 2)
Community Coffee - "Cannon" (pt. 3)
Community Coffee - "Cannon" (pt. 4)
Merita Bread - "Brand X" (Found)
A storyboard for Community Coffee ad, "Everybody"
Red Diamond - “Cheap Coffee.”
Community Coffee - "TV Set" (Found)
National City Bank - "Cannon."
A storyboard of an unknown Wilkins Coffee commercial

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.

External Links

Compilation featuring a newly discovered Wilkins Coffee commercial.

Sources