Sep 13 2009
Gone But Not Forgotten: 5 Product Mascots That Mattered
1. Charlie the Tuna: He had a mob boss name. He had a death wish. He suffered constant rejection. If Charlie the Tuna does not mirror the working man of 2009, what does. We need to bring him out of retirement pronto. Here Charlie tries to get his Jackson Pollock on, but inevitable rejection to his suicidal motivations prevails.
2. Punchy: Oh admit it, you PC hypocites! Cartoon violence is funnier than an evening with Joe Biden. However, I do imagine that Punchy in his prime really put a dent in tourism for our beloved 50th state.
3. Mac Tonight: Yes, there was something terribly creepy about him, but kudos to McD’s for trying to make their image a bit more urbane and sophisticated in 1988. Still, kinda creepy. Not as creepy as the first Ronald McDonald. Or even the current Ronald. Come to think of it, a pianist with a curved moon face isn’t all that bad.
4. The Frito Bandito: Yes, I know he was seen as a racist stereotype. But he was a fraking BANDITO!!! Does that make every Latino a bandito? Um, no. Is everyone living in the U.S. a cowboy? Again, no. Being PC and constantly afraid to offend sucks the fun out of living. No matter what your race, none of us are special. We are all messed up equally. Let us laugh at each other and most importantly ourselves. That is what will save our doomed asses. Anyways, the Frito Bandito was legend. I had a Frito Bandito pencil eraser in first grade. The Bandito was eventually replaced by the lesser W.C. Frito. We will discuss him at another time. Extra props given to the Bandito as he was given voice by the legendary Mel Blanc (basically every cool voice given to every cool Warner Bros. Cartoon character) and animated by the legendary Tex Avery (Droopy, Barney Bear, and countless classic MGM cartoons of the ’40’s and 50’s).
5. Burger Chef and Jeff: Burger Chef ruled. They had a salad bar type setting where you could doctor up your burgers as you wanted them. They eventually began to fade out in the early to mid 1980’s. Too bad. The concept was excellent, as was the food as I recall. The gent who did the voice of Burger Chef was also the voice of Tigger and Gargamel from The Smurfs. A dorky fact to share with dorky company.
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The clown wouldnt have anything to do with an “alter-ego” so he eliminated the Mac-tonight moon…….and probably all of your mascot loves. There can only be one…..sort of like Highlander of mascot’s.