It’s #NationalCoffeeDay, so let’s spend just a bit talking about one of the greatest coffee salesmen of all time: Jim Henson, who helped put Washington, DC’s Wilkins Coffee company on the map in the late 1950s with a series of . . . explosive commercials.

/ 1

In 1957, the John H. Wilkins Company approached the Ver Standig advertising firm about producing fifteen 10-second TV commercials for their coffee. The company wanted something memorable and, if possible, funny.

Helen Ver Standig thought she knew exactly who to call. /2

Ver Ständig was a fan of a local TV show called SAM & FRIENDS, created by a University of Maryland student named Jim Henson, who was slaying audiences every night with 5 minutes of craziness featuring a group of puppets he’d created only 2 years earlier called...the Muppets. /3

Ver Ständig admitted she found SAM & FRIENDS “pretty corny,” but thought Henson and the Muppets could make the commercials memorable. The real challenge is that Jim would only have about 8 seconds for his spots, with the last 2 seconds to show the product. Not a lot of time. /4

Jim nevertheless accepted the job, determined to do something different. Coffee ads at the time were mostly serious stuff, with a Very Earnest Narrator enthusing about coffee over images of steaming cups or fragrant beans. Sorta like this one. /5

Wilkins coffee had made a name in the DC area with the slogan, “Use Wilkins coffee; it’s a wonderful way to start the day!” For his ads, Jim Henson decided to give it a Muppet twist: “Use Wilkins coffee….or else.”

In that “or else!” lay Jim’s particular brand of expertise. /6

For his campaign, Jim created two new Muppet characters: Wilkins (on the right), who WILL drink Wilkins Coffee, and Wontkins, who…well, WON’T.

The name of the game, then, became: "What would it take to get Wontkins to drink Wilkins Coffee?" /7

The answer, it turns out, was, “Quite a bit.”

Here’s a compilation reel of the results. Prepare yourself.

/7

The ads were a sensation, sending Wilkins sales soaring 25 percent. Jim would produce nearly 180 ads over the next few years, and many TV viewers confessed they were sitting through afternoon westerns or quiz show solely in hopes of catching the latest Wilkins ad. /8

The ads were so popular they even spawned the very first Muppet merchandise, a set of vinyl Wilkins and Wontkins puppets you could get by sending in a dollar and “the last inch of winding band on Wilkins Coffee.” (The puppets are in the @smithsonian today.) /9

Jim would end up being hired by other coffee companies around the country (Nash in MN, Community Coffee in LA, La Touraine in MA) to produce similar ads—and would make quite a bit of money. Money that would help him found a new company, Muppets, Inc., in 1958. /10

So for #NationalCoffeeDay, I propose we adopt Wilkins and Wontkins as the official mascots for the occasion! Whattaya say?

Think hard before answering.

/end?

If you enjoyed this story, there’s a lot more to it — and you can read this and more in JIM HENSON: THE BIOGRAPHY, available from your favorite bookseller. And I thank you kindly.