Character of the Week: Punchy

Punchy, the Hawaiian Punch Guy

Punchy the Hawaiian Punch Guy

Hawaiian Punch was invented in a garage in 1943.  A.W. Leo, Tom Yates and Ralph Harrison made the first recipe to be used as a tropical flavored syrup for their ice cream topping company, Pacific Citrus Products Company.  The syrup was sold to restaurants, soda fountains and ice cream manufacturers.  People realized that if you mixed the syrup with water, it created a very tasty drink, but at that time, there was no way for the public to purchase the drink directly.  This changed in 1946 when Reuben P. Hughes purchased the company, renaming it as Pacific Hawaiian Products Co.  He introduced bottles of concentrate for sale in retail grocery stores, and mainstream America got its first taste of the delicious drink.  During the 1950s, Hawaiian Punch became very popular, and in 1955, the drink became a national brand.

The Hawaiian Punch Guy, known as “Punchy” was created in 1961 to advertise Hawaiian Punch.  He was drawn by artist Martin Mandelblatt from the advertising agency Atherton-Privett.  The Punchy cartoon character premiered on a television commercial for Hawaiian Punch in 1962.

The commercial was an instant success. Punchy wore a striped shirt and a hat of grass, and he carried a glass of Hawaiian Punch.  Skipping along, he approached an island tourist named Oaf (or Opie) who wore a flower shirt and a hat.  Punchy said “Hey, how about a nice Hawaiian Punch?” Oaf responded with “Sure!”  Punchy then proceeded to punch Oaf in the face and then skip away, leaving Oaf knocked out on the ground.

More commercials like this one were made, and Oaf never learned his lesson.  He would always get a punch in the face from Punchy, and he would never receive a drink of the Hawaiian Punch.  The tagline “How about a nice Hawaiian Punch” was copyrighted in 1964.  The Punchy and Oaf characters were used as advertising characters through the 1990’s, although sometimes spokespersons such as Donny and Marie Osmond were used.

The ownership of Hawaiian Punch changed several times from its inception in 1943 until the present day.  Currently it is a part of the Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc., a refreshment beverage company.  Punchy is not seen in commercials anymore, but he is still the mascot for Hawaiian Punch, appearing on product labels.  He is a popular character, and over the years many types of merchandise were created in his likeness.  Memorabilia such as watches and key chains are sold as collectibles today.  Punchy is a great advertising character, and he will surely be around for years to come.