Hawaiian Punch Commercial from 1961

Some people are just gluttons for punishment. Charlie Brown will always try to kick that football even though Lucy pulls it away every time. Rachel returns to Ross even though they seem to frustrate the heck out of each other. Viewers of The Big Bang Theory will hear a laugh track despite the absence of any funny lines. But perhaps the best example of this comes from the Hawaiian Punch commercial series starring Punchy and Oaf. As the name suggests, Punchy is the “Hawaiian Punch Guy” while Oaf is his..friend? Enemy? A guy who just happens to have a lot of bad luck?

The Atherton-Privett ad agency created this 20-second spot in 1961. Bob Guidi and John Urie designed the two characters, with Urie voicing Oaf’s “lines,” which are typically one-word responses. They hired veteran voice actor Ross Martin to do Punchy’s voice, and Rod Scribner animated the early commercials, with Sam Cornell contributing to the later ones.

This ad won many awards, though I can’t imagine it airing today.

However, there are a couple of fun elements to note that I think should continue to be staples in food and beverage commercials.

First, Punchy regularly scats in these ads. His “bee doo bop, fruit juicy Hawaiian Punch” is very catchy. We need more scatting nowadays.

Second, the can of Hawaiian Punch is TALLER THAN PUNCHY HIMSELF. I’m all for comical juxtapositions. The can also says “let’s have a party,” which reminds me of this terrific local advertisement from Mr. Submarine featuring Scottie Pippen — perhaps inspired by the Hawaiian Punch guy himself?

A.W. Leo, Tom Yeats, and Ralph Harrison originally concocted Leo’s Hawaiian Punch as an ice cream topping out of a converted garage in 1934. The original Hawaiian Punch flavors consisted of orange, pineapple, passion fruit, guava and papaya.

I wonder if people back then referred to them by colors. “Pass me a green Hawaiian punch,” your pal might say. “No, I only have blue Hawaiian Punch,” you’d offer in return.

The premise of the Hawaiian Punch commercial series is very simple. If you haven’t seen any of these spots, I don’t want to ruin it for you. I remember audibly guffawing the first time I watched it because it was so unexpected.

Subsequent Hawaiian Punch commercials followed this same pattern with a slight twist. But we’re here to honor the OG.

Watch the original that started it all: