Dive Brief:
- Starkist is bringing back its beloved — and sort of weird — spokesman: an animated tuna fish named Charlie.
- The new Charlie is much like the old Charlie. Starkist has preserved his beatnik look, voice and mannerisms, describing him as "a classic hipster with a fresh new look.”
- Starkist is planning a series of TV commercials and a social-media campaign featuring Charlie.
Dive Insight:
We loved Charlie when we were kids. But even then we thought he was a little bizarre. The premise of those early ads was that Charlie wanted to wind up in a can of tuna fish, but he never made the cut. The ads ended with Charlie looking disappointed as a voiceover actor said "Sorry, Charlie."
The new ads apparently don't include Charlie's death wish.
We're pleased to see Charlie return. And we're even more pleased to see he's apparently got past his self-destructive inclinations.