Star-Kist, 1972. 'Sorry, Charlie. Tuna is for kids.' Well, that's how they sold us in the 70s.

Commercial break time. Here’s a TV spot for Star-Kist Tuna featuring Charlie the Tuna and his little yellow buddy. Similar spots ran, and were well-liked, throughout the 1970s.

The copyright on this commercial looks like it reads 1972 and YouTube poster, WookieCookie, says it was recorded in 1973. The ad execs and animators did their job well on this long-running series of Star-Kist ads. As a child, I actually looked forward to seeing a new commercial and mildly enjoying what fresh twist they’d come up with to foil Charlie. It always came down to this:

“But Charlie, Star-Kist don’t want tuna with good taste. Star-Kist wants tuna that tastes good.”

*Note: The originally posted video is no longer online. Here’s a good replacement with a Jaws take-off from 1976.