This week’s Cartoon Guru is sponsored by...Commercials! I am one of the few fans of cartoons who really enjoys the cartoon spokesmen of commercials. Now of course there are famous cartoon characters who also did commercials, but I am talking about those members of Cartoondom whose entire source of fame is commercials. Characters like Tony the Tiger, Charlie Tuna, Toucan Sam, and others.
I was speaking with the head of the ASIFA Hollywood’s Animation Archive Steve Worth a couple of weeks ago, and he has a huge collection of animation artwork from commercials because he happens to like them a lot as well. And back when he was collecting them people thought he was crazy. While other people were paying top dollar for artwork from the Disney features or Looney Tunes, he was purchasing Cap’n Crunch, the Jolly Green Giant, and more. I thought that was so neat because I thought I was the only one with an affinity for these characters.
The first image ever broadcast was Felix the Cat, so television and cartoons have always had a special relationship, but cartoon commercials reigned supreme as the most iconic advertising spokespeople for many years. The first cartoon commercial was broadcast in September 1941, when barely 5000 TV sets were in homes. The cartoon character The Botany Lamb was produced to promote Botany Mills ties. Though seven spots were produced for this original campaign, the character its self lasted through 1948.
As television caught on across the country more companies and advertisers went the way of cartoon advertising. Unlike with radio, images could be used to sell products, and these cartoon shorts were not only visually stimulating, but they could also allow spokespeople to do anything that could be imagined. Though the work was not theatrical quality animation, many of these ads had budgets ranging from $3,000 to $5,000. This was top money for the time and was used to attract top talents like Jay Ward and even Disney, and voiced by the greatest in the business like Paul Frees and June Foray. Art Babbitt, who created Goofy, and Grim Natwick, who created Betty Boop and is widely respected as one of the greatest animators of all time, both animated the Ajax Elves:
Over the years, the number of advertisers who used cartoon characters to sell products expanded astoundingly. Coke, Sprite, Plymouth, De Soto, Tide, Alka Seltzer, Skippy Peanut Butter, and all manner of breakfast cereals were just a few of the most popular advertisements. Recently, however, the trend has been to move away from animated characters focusing on live-action comedy or special effects.
But these animated commercial characters have become an indelible part of the collective consciousness. Ask anyone you know, and everyone will know where the Keebler Elves live or what you go for Cocoa Puffs. Part of the reason that these characters are so etched in our brains is the nature of the medium of advertising. Cartoons used for advertising are unique because they appear onscreen for a minute or two at the most. Because of this small window of time, they have to be as packed with entertainment and information as they can. The massive volume of commercials that you see also plays a part, as each needs to be as unique and captivating as possible. Also, you often see the same commercial many times before it is replaced with another spot.
And it isn’t just the information, it's also the way in which the information is presented to you. Cartoons utilize sight and sound, but in a way that is different from watching a TV show or an animated feature or short at the movies. In these little snippets, you are not meant to just react to what you see, but participate. These lovable characters ask you to go out and buy their products and then use (eat, play with, clean with, etc.) what you bought. They encourage you to be a full player in their world. This complete “sensory inclusion” makes cartoon commercials an unforgettable part of a television experience, and seeing them as a child adds an element of nostalgia as well.
Though some of the cartoon advertisements no longer fit in to what society finds acceptable to be on television, like animated Kool Cigarettes ads or Hamm’s Beer ads featuring the Beer Bear, most of these cartoon characters are funny, charming, or have otherwise won their way into our hearts. So this week on the Cartoon Guru, I am going to pay tribute to some of these great characters. We’ll get back to your regularly scheduled Cartoon Guru after these messages.
CG
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