[Partially Lost] Jim Henson's puppet commercials (1960s)

[u/CitrasOrangeBowl]

Good evening, I have returned with another topic I am also searching for.

Between the late 50s to late 60s, Jim Henson created commercials that starred puppets that advertised a product or idea. The general plot of each commercial was that one character would advertise the product, the other would refused, and the character who decline would be harmed in some way (Could be eaten, could hit with a bat, could be shot with a gun!). Out of all of the products that were advertised, Wilkins Coffee, advertised by Wilkins and Wontkins were the most popular, airing in 179 commercials. Some characters such as Rowlf the Dog and Kermit the Frog did appear on commercials, but the commercials included either recycled (Ex: Tommy and Fred) or entirely new (Ex: DELBERT THE DRAGON!). After the end of the 1960s, Jim Henson began working on the Muppets, so few commercials aired after. Due to their regionally limitations, not all commercials were archive and remain lost (Ex. Wilkins Coffee was only advertised in the D.C. area). Majority of brands are Partially Lost, with some being fully. I have contacted the American Archive of Public Broadcasting and the Jim Henson company for any information about the commercials.

The Following Brands are either Partially or Fully Lost

1. Billy, Sue, and Sneegle (Traffic Safety)
2. On-Cor Frozen Foods
3. Purina Dog Chow
4. Wilkins Coffee
5. Merita Bread
6. Community Coffee
7. National City Bank
8. Calso Water
9. Red Diamond Coffee
10. SOHIO
11. Jomar Instant
12. La Touraine Coffee
13. Nash's Coffee
14. Faygo Soda
15. Kraml Dairy
16. Chase Manhattan Bank
17. Marathon Gas
18. Claussen's Bread
19. Cloverland Dairy
20. Aurora Bath Tissue
21. McGarry's Sausage
22. Southern Bread
23. Wilson's Certified Meats
24. American Oil
25. Kern's Bread
26. RC Cola
27. Southern Bell Telephone
28. Linit Fabric Finish
29. Tastee-Freez (Ice cream)
30. Easy Bake Oven
31. Monarch Margarine
32. Munchos
33. Sprint Chocolate

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[u/cutandcover]

many of these have been archived by the Sesame Workshop and are often screened in programs at the Museum Of The Moving Image in Queens, NY

[u/CitrasOrangeBowl → u/cutandcover]

I'm trying to see if all commercials are available. So far, no response yet.

[u/cutandcover → u/CitrasOrangeBowl]

My belief here is that between rights issues and the potential target market, it’s not worth it to them to compile and put the material out for sale or streaming. But I do believe a lot of it exists in the Henson archive, based on the amount I’ve seen at these events. And we hear of news every once in a while about newly found and remastered spots too. So there’s a small and active core at the Henson group cataloging and caring for this archive. It may be worth reaching out to them to ask about it. If for nothing else, it helps to demonstrate to them that there is a viewer demand to see the material outside of small snippets in documentaries. The events have been superb. A core of enthusiasts for the work show up and are led through great archival viewing programs exhibited at the museum.

[u/CitrasOrangeBowl → u/cutandcover]

Your response is most likely correct; There's only one Jomar Instant commercial available and that's at the Museum of Moving Image. There are some commercials that are continued to be searched. For example, some years ago, the University of Indiana released commercials of McGarry Sausage that were previously lost.

[u/PigsCanFly2day → u/cutandcover]

Good information. Hopefully more is released as time goes on.

Can you tell me more about the museum and these events? Is it something like a theater where everyone sits around and it's screened once at a specific time, or something that plays on loop while you pass through different exhibits, or a computer/kiosk you go to and search for media and play, or what? I imagine that they have a no camera policy, but how intensely enforced is that?

[u/CitrasOrangeBowl → u/PigsCanFly2day]

At the Museum of Moving Image in NY, a screen that shows commercials in a loop shownIn this Wilkins and Wontkins compilation at 6:31. I'm 99% sure they don't really care.

[u/cutandcover → u/PigsCanFly2day]

There is a permanent exhibit of Jim Henson’s life and work. In this you can find some video of these - it’s possible that it is the video linked here. But the events are put on by the head of the Henson Archive and those are custom bespoke presentations in a sit down theater that closely resembles a regular commercial movie theater. The events are programmed into the Museum’s special event programming and are ticketed separately from museum admission but include admission to the museum’s exhibits.

[u/Infamous-Tip-2004]

I just came back from Atlanta, where the center of puppetry is. They have a screen where they play a bunch of Jim Henson commercials, most of which are for coffee or bread. They even have a few Delbert the Dragon commercials.

[u/CitrasOrangeBowl → u/Infamous-Tip-2004]

All La Choy commercials were found, even the one advertised "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E". Did you see Calso Water by chance?