Charlie the Tuna

Charlie the Tuna is the cartoon mascot and spokes-tuna for the StarKist brand. He was created by Tom Rogers of the Leo Burnett Agency after StarKist hired Leo Burnett in 1961. StarKist Tuna is the name of a brand of tuna currently owned by Dongwon Industries, a South Korea-based conglomerate. StarKist itself is based in Pittsburgh, the home of its former parent company, H. J. Heinz Company, sharing its headquarters on the site of Three Rivers Stadium with another former parent company, Del Monte Foods' Pittsburgh headquarters.

History

Creation

As reported in news stories about Rogers, Charlie the Tuna was based on Rogers' friend, the actor-songwriter Henry Nemo. B-movie actress Maila Nurmi claims that the character was originally sketched six years earlier by the actor James Dean while she was sitting with him one night in Googie's coffee shop in Los Angeles. However, StarKist and Burnett both give full credit to Rogers, and there is no actual evidence for Nurmi's claim.

Campaign

Bill Parcells

Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is a former American football head coach, both in college with the Air Force Falcons, and the National Football League with the New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets, and Dallas Cowboys and is currently a "Courtesy Consultant" for the Cleveland Browns. He is known as "The Big Tuna", a nickname about the shape of his physique derived from a team joke during his tenure as linebackers coach of the New England Patriots.

Parcells won two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants, defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI and the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. He led the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI, but lost to the Green Bay Packers 35-21. He also led the New York Jets to the 1998 AFC Championship Game. He announced his third retirement from football on January 22, 2007 before returning to the sport later that year as the Vice President of Football Operations with the Miami Dolphins. He resigned from his role as the "football czar" with the Dolphins in September 2010, working as a "consultant" with the team until he took a leave of absence in October 2010, and left the team after the season. He is currently an NFL analyst for ESPN.