Starkist Charlie the Tuna Commercial – Footnotes
Starkist Tuna can still be found on shelves today, but I admittedly have seen exactly one commercial for the product. It’s this one, featuring Starkist Charlie the Tuna. Well, I guess his actual name is just Charlie the Tuna. But “Starkist Charlie” has a nice ring to it, like a bad alternative band.
Anyway, this ad is filled with all kinds of good stuff. Let’s dive on in.
Starkist Charlie the Tuna Makes Art
Our commercial opens on Starkist Charlie the Tuna making some sort of avant garde artwork. It’s anyone’s guess as to what he’s actually working on. It doesn’t really look like anything. The only thing I can even kind of see is a metal reproduction of Snoopy. I doubt there’d be that kind of comic cross-pollination, though. So it’s probably just supposed to be an abstract piece.
Charlie is visited by another fish friend. He doesn’t get a name, so we’ll call him Earl. Earl claims he knows what Charlie’s making, and I believe he says “a modern statue,” but the accents of both of these sea critters are pretty intense. I’m not sure the Bronx has taken up roots in the ocean, yet here we are.
Charlie and his little beret are super proud of their work. As they should be – despite not actually being anything, this could go for hundreds of dollars at an art exhibit. He says Starkist only wants people…er, tuna with good taste.
Avoiding the Can
The commercial actually apologizes to Starkist Charlie the Tuna. It goes, “Sorry Charlie,” with a sign actually falling to the ocean floor via a fish hook. The spot then explains that only the best tasting tuna get to be Starkist.
Charlie looks distraught, but he actually lucks out. His lack of taste means he gets to keep on thriving in the sea, rather than get put into a can. That’s a pretty big deal, and I’m glad he managed to escape. Because now he can tell us to order Starkist, and “tell ‘em Charlie sent you.”
Next time I buy Starkist tuna from the store, I’m totally saying that. I’m sure I’ll get a blank stare back at me and I can’t wait.
