Wilkins and Wontkins are the Muppet stars of one of the earliest, and perhaps longest running, commercial series made by Jim Henson, appearing in 8-second spots for Wilkins Coffee. The two were created and named to be the polar opposite of one another; Wilkins, who "will" drink the coffee, and Wontkins, who "won't."
Wilkins was a smiling character named for the coffee, and Wontkins was his generally dour counterpart, a grumpy blob who couldn't stand the Wilkins brand. Wilkins would be a strong proponent of drinking Wilkins Coffee, and would attempt to convince Wontkins to drink it, too. Wontkins however, almost always refused, leading Wilkins to maim, destroy, assault, harass, and even kill Wontkins over his dislike of Wilkins Coffee. Sometimes, Wilkins would be abetted by an assisting force, such as a hand, an animal, or company president Mr. Wilkins. On a few occasions, Wontkins admitted to actually liking Wilkins Coffee.
The typical format of the ads would see the gleeful Wilkins persuading the sour Wontkins to drink Wilkins Coffee; Wontkins would almost always grumpily refuse, leading Wilkins (or an assisting outside force, such as an animal, a vehicle, an object, a hand, or company president Mr. Wilkins) to commit some act of extreme violence, such as:
Shooting him
Stabbing him
Running him over
Throwing him out of buildings
Wilkins and Wontkins' real life puppets
Throwing him off of ships
Throwing him out of aircraft
Breaking a glass bottle over his head
Strapping him to a barber chair and attempting to slit his throat
Firebombing his house
Executing him in an electric chair
Wilkins also owns a pet Dog-Lion Beast that isn't opposed to eating Wontkins.
The characters proved so popular that in October 1958, the company offered vinyl puppets of Wilkins and Wontkins through the mail for $1.00 and a coffee can label. The offer on the can said, "Hey Kids! I'm Wilkins and he's Wontkins—you see us on TV!" These puppets are difficult to find today. Years later, Community Coffee offered hand puppets of the characters.
The pair were also used in ads for other products, including Wilkins tea, and assorted other brands, and established a basic pattern which would be reflected in later commercial teams, such as Scoop and Skip, Tommy and Fred, Mack and Kermit, and then, Mack and Suzy.
Public Domain Appearances[]
Wilkins Coffee (1957-1961)
Faygo (1958-1959)
La Touraine Coffee (1958-1962) (as "Will" and "Waine")
Nash's Coffee (1958-1961)
Community Coffee (1959-1969)
Jomar Instant (1959)
National City Bank (1959)
Calso Water (1961) (as "Cal" and "So")
Donovan Coffee Company (1961-1966)
Frank's Beverages (1961-1963) (as "Frank" and "Fink")
Kraml Dairy (1962)
Merita Bread (1963)
Taystee Bread (1967)
Muppets on Puppets (1968, Wontkins cameo)
Notes[]
Very few commercials featuring them had copyright notices, however, "Cannon" was one of the few to have a notice. Although, there are no records of renewal for the commercials with notices making them public domain.
In recent years, the Wilkins Coffee ads have gone viral online due to their excessive use of violence.
Despite his similar appearance and contrary to rumor, Wilkins is not an early incarnation of Kermit the Frog. Kermit was the first puppet built of the two, and appeared side by side with Wilkins in early promotional images of The Muppets.
"Wilkins Coffee" is a defunct brand, therefore it's not protected by trademark.
