Mel Blanc Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

Who remembers when Bugs Bunny was actually on the Kool-Aid package?

This commercial takes us back to around 1965, when Bugs and Elmer Fudd weren’t just Saturday morning entertainment — they were helping General Foods sell the relatively new Pre-Sweetened Kool-Aid

What I love is that they didn’t just drop the characters into a generic ad. Elmer is still chasing that “wascally wabbit,” Bugs is still one step ahead, and somehow the whole thing turns into a Kool-Aid commercial

Legendary animator Tex Avery, who helped shape Bugs Bunny’s personality years earlier, returned to direct some of these commercials. Mel Blanc was still Bugs, but Elmer was voiced here by Hal Smith, who many of us remember better as Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show

Pre-Sweetened Kool-Aid itself was fairly new, introduced in 1964 so you no longer had to add your own sugar. Bugs became so closely tied to the product that his picture appeared right on the packages

And then this commercial gives us another nearly forgotten memory — Kool-Pops. The frozen treats had been around since at least 1960, giving General Foods another way to turn Kool-Aid into something kids could beg Mom to buy

It’s funny how one short commercial can bring back so much at once — Bugs and Elmer, the old Kool-Aid packets, Kool-Pops, and the days when cartoon characters regularly helped decide what ended up in the grocery cart

Do you remember Bugs Bunny on the Kool-Aid packages — and does anyone remember Kool-Pops?

The Road Runner Show: Saturday Morning Speed

This clip from 1966 comes from The Road Runner Show, when Warner Bros. gave Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner their own Saturday morning showcase. The formula could not have been simpler: a hungry coyote, a bird who was always one step ahead, a desert full of cliffs, tunnels, rockets, spring-loaded traps, and of course, plenty of bad ideas from Acme.

What made it work was that we knew exactly what was coming, and somehow it was still funny every time. Wile E. Coyote would carefully build the perfect plan, the Road Runner would zip by with a “beep beep,” and gravity would usually handle the rest. For kids watching in 1966, this was Saturday morning cartoon comfort food — fast, colorful, silly, and impossible not to watch.

And speaking of Road Runners, we’ll be staying in the fast lane for the next post — but this time, we’re trading the cartoon desert for one of the most memorable muscle cars to ever borrow a cartoon name.

The Frito Bandito

The Frito Bandito was introduced by Frito-Lay in 1967 as a cartoon mascot for Fritos corn chips. He was animated in early commercials by Tex Avery and voiced by Mel Blanc, the legendary voice behind Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and many others.

The idea was simple: the Bandito wanted your Fritos. With his sombrero, big mustache, pistols, and catchy jingle, he became one of those commercial characters kids remembered right away. The song, based on “Cielito Lindo,” made the ads especially hard to forget.

The campaign also drew complaints from Mexican-American groups who felt the character leaned too heavily on stereotypes. Frito-Lay softened his look over time, including removing the guns, but the character was eventually retired around 1971.

For many who grew up with late-’60s and early-’70s TV, the Frito Bandito is one of those ads that instantly brings back Saturday morning cartoons, snack commercials, and jingles you could still remember decades later.

Tags: Frito Bandito, Fritos, Frito-Lay, 1960s commercials, vintage advertising, retro commercials, Mel Blanc, Tex Avery, Saturday morning commercials, snack food ads, The Retro Site