More and More Ads Are Drawing On Cartoon Characters

Tom Wilson isn’t a betting man. And neither is Ziggy, the luckless cartoon strip character he created 20 years ago.

So Wilson was slightly befuddled when the Ohio Lottery Commission recently proposed a deal for an ad campaign that would feature his poor-sap character, Ziggy. “They thought that he could be the little guy in the big world who didn’t know how to play the lottery--but could learn,” said Wilson.

Obviously, a commercial deal with the Ohio Lottery could have meant something akin to a lottery win for Wilson. But he refused. It’s not that Wilson doesn’t like to make extra money off his cartoon creations. After all, over the years Ziggy has appeared on everything from paper plates to T-shirts.

“But when the ad agency sent me a story board that showed Ziggy buying a lottery ticket, I said ‘absolutely not,’ ” said Wilson, who is now a vice president at American Greetings Corp. “I can’t afford to do anything that would put Ziggy out of character.”

Like never before, however, cartoon strip creators are being asked to do just that. It didn’t take long for the creator of the Cathy cartoon strip, Cathy Guisewite, to reject a bid by a giant toilet paper maker to use her Cathy character in their ads. And Peanuts creator Charles Schulz turned down a request by a vacuum cleaner maker that had notions of selling a Pig Pen vacuum cleaner--and using the dust-collecting character from the Peanuts comic strip as the advertising pitchman.

As advertisers struggle to rise above the competitive clutter, they are becoming convinced that the likes of Snoopy and Cathy can sometimes be better hucksters than Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd. What’s more, comic strip stars have few of the real-life flaws of live celebrities who can end up in barroom brawls, drug treatment centers--or even dead.

These days, Charlie Brown is an insurance salesman hyping Metropolitan Life Insurance; the Far Side characters are in print ads for the overnight delivery company, DHL Worldwide Express, and Garfield the cat is doing double duty as a spokescat for both McDonald’s and Embassy Suite Hotels.

Only a few cartoonists, notably, Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau--refuse to allow their comic strip characters to become commercial hucksters. It’s not that Trudeau is such a purist, says Lee Salem, editorial director at Universal Press Syndicate, which handles Doonesbury. “The biggest thing is the time element,” said Salem. “He likes to be involved in every aspect of the comic strip and that just doesn’t leave time for much else.”

And as far as the Graphic Artists Guild--a cartoonists’ trade group--is concerned, the more ads cartoonists can sell, the better. “It’s just as appropriate for Charles Schulz to use Peanuts to sell Fords and Metropolitan Life Insurance as it is for Bill Cosby to sell Jell-O and E. F. Hutton,” said Sam Viviano, chairman of the New York chapter.

Although the Far Side characters are now selling DHL, it didn’t happen on a lark. DHL executives did some marketing research that proved something they already suspected--the comic strip is particularly popular in offices. “Lots of people hang the Far Side cartoon strips above their desks, so we figured they’d pay attention if they saw it in ads,” said Paul Losch, director of marketing. So the company has invested $10 million in a TV and print campaign that reminds readers that it delivers packages to the “far side” of the world.

Even the new guy on the hotel block has turned to a comic strip character. Last year, the all-suite hotel chain, Embassy Suites, wanted an ad campaign that would get immediate attention. “We were an unknown name with a virtually unknown type of hotel concept,” said spokeswoman Judy Heinrich.

At first, the chain considered hiring Jackie Gleason as a spokesman, and adopting the slogan, “How suite it is.” But even last year, the age and deteriorating health of Gleason--who died in June--concerned Embassy Suite executives. So they did an about-face and hired hip cartoonist Jim Davis to create a Garfield campaign for Embassy.

“Garfield wants to eat, sleep and be pampered--which is exactly what our guests want,” said Heinrich. Indeed, since the Garfield ad campaign began, calls to the Embassy have increased 110%, said Heinrich, and its ad budget has nearly doubled to more than $10 million. “The only problem,” she said, is figuring out what to do with all the kids who call Embassy’s 800-phone number and ask to speak to Garfield.

McDonald’s doesn’t seem to mind that Garfield is hyping another product. In a national promotion, it is placing the fat cat’s smiling mug on 89-cent glasses that it is selling to customers. “We’re in the hamburger business, not the toy business,” said David Green, McDonald’s national advertising manager, “but Garfield happens to be very good at selling hamburgers.”

The comic strip character B. C., meanwhile, has sold everything from Monroe shock absorbers to the Peace Corps. “We won’t be associated with liquor, cigarettes or condoms,” said Johnny Hart, creator of the strip. “But it’s always been a love of mine to adapt these characters into advertisements.

He is not alone. Guisewite spent five years creating advertisements at three ad firms--long before she was etching Cathy cartoons. So she had no problem turning Cathy, the ultimate cartoon strip consumer, into a huckster for Betty Crocker Cake Lover’s Collection of cake mixes. In a recent television campaign, Cathy is seen lying in bed dreaming about some cake--then she runs to the refrigerator and gobbles one up.

“I don’t feel that I’ve sold out or cheapened the image of Cathy,” said Guisewite. “In the cartoon strip, Cathy is always worrying about what to eat, so the product is totally appropriate for her character.”

New Approach to Nissan Ads

Nissan: built for the human race.

That is the slogan that ad firm Chiat/Day has concocted for its new, $150-million client, Nissan. The new ads--which will feature designers and engineers talking about the comfort and style of the cars--are scheduled to premiere Oct. 19 on Monday Night Football.

The agency wants to create an image of Nissan as a maker of cars built for people--not cars designed in reaction to the competition’s products. At least, that is what Chiat/Day Chairman Jay Chiat and President Lee Clow told about 50 regional Nissan dealer association presidents in Nashville last week.

Looking for as much impact as possible, the agency also plans to buy more national--and less local--television advertising time. A new Nissan jingle has also been written. And Nissan’s new print advertising campaign will premiere in magazines including Time and Sports Illustrated with 12-page and 20-page inserts.

“The ads won’t create immediate traffic in the showrooms, but we have to look at the long run,” said George Athan, president of the Nissan Dealer Assn. of Southern California.

“Chiat/Day has done its homework,” said Jim Dowen, president of the Montana Nissan Dealers Advertising Assn. “Maybe their ads will convince people that the Nissan Pulsar isn’t a wristwatch and that the Maxima isn’t a checking account.”