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Wilkins Coffee

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  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Catharsis Factor: For all who feel bad for Wontkins being tormented relentlessly by the Affably Evil, sadistic Wilkins just for not liking Wilkins Coffee, the commercial where Wilkins says he'll pay $1,000,000 for a cup of Wilkins Coffee, only for one to appear while Wontkins demands payment serves as a great piece of karmic justice.
  • Common Knowledge: Many people will tell you that Wilkins served as a prototype for Kermit, having a similar body structure and voice. However, Kermit was already a pre-established character at this point on Sam and Friends, predating the Wilkins Coffee commercials by a couple years. Granted, Kermit wasn't finalized yet, as he was a reptile back then instead of a frog, but he very much came before Wilkins.
  • Crosses the Line Twice: The things that Wontkins goes through. Some are so extremely violent that you can't help but laugh. Also, the way Wilkins goes about torturing the poor guy (e.g., having him cut up by a conveyor belt and saying, "He always was a cutup.")
  • Designated Hero: Wilkins is portrayed as the peppy "good guy" to Wontkins' grouchy "bad guy", but is willing to kill someone in a variety of elaborate and gruesome ways for the crime of not liking coffee.
  • Designated Villain: Wontkins is the ostensible "bad guy" of the commercials, but, other than seeming somewhat gruff, never does anything more heinous than refuse to drink Wilkins Coffee. In comparison, his Foil Wilkins cheerily murders him in almost every short.
  • Fridge Horror: Some have wondered how Wilkins himself would react to the fact that the company has gone out of business. General consensus is that it wouldn't be pleasant either way.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Ho Yay: A few commercials ship Wontkins with a crossdressing Wilkins.
    Wilkins: Darling, if I marry you, will you keep me in Wilkins Coffee?
    Wontkins: Boy, will this be a soggy romance...
  • Just Here for Godzilla: Wilkins and Wontkins are remembered more fondly than the coffee itself. Though considering it was a local brand that doesn't exist anymore, this shouldn't surprise anyone.
  • Love to Hate: Even if fans don't find him as protagonistic as the commercials frame him as, Wilkins himself is still beloved for just how unrepentant his abuse towards Wontkins is, coming up with increasingly creative ways to torment him, which paints Wilkins as Laughably Evil to fans.
  • Memetic Psychopath: Wilkins will maim and/or kill anyone who doesn't drink Wilkins Coffee.
  • Nightmare Fuel: Now has its own page.
  • Not So Crazy Anymore: One ad sees Wilkins asking Wontkins for $65 to buy a cup of Wilkins Coffee under the pretense that he doesn't want to look like a bum, with Wontkins being incredulous to this request. While the joke still works after 70 years of inflation — $65 is still a lot of money to throw around for a single cup of coffee — the absurdity doesn't hit as much as when the ad first aired, as $65 in 1957 is the equivalent of $745 in 2025 money, meaning the joke was that Wilkins was asking for a fortune rather than an exorbitant but believable loan.
  • Signature Scene: Three particular ads are often considered the most memorable:
    • The cannon commercial is often considered the Establishing Series Moment due to being one of the first made and showing how violent the ads can get. It was also prone to many Self-Parodies during the ads' original run.
    • The tree-climbing commercial tends to be seen as the funniest out of all the ads due to its slapstick and Wilkins' hilarious Bond One-Liner, resulting in various fan-made recreations of the ad.
    • The fencing commercial not only has an incredibly unique premise, but is also widely remembered for being the ad that pushed the campaign's sense of violence to its absolute limit thanks to its sense of Nothing Is Scarier mixed with visible blood.
  • Special Effect Failure: During the mountain climbing commercial, after Wilkins lets go of the rope adorned to Wontkins, Jim Henson can be seen stepping out slightly from behind the set, as well as putting his hand on his hip when Wilkins says, "When you come back up, don't forget the Wilkins!"
  • Values Dissonance: Given that these commercials were made in The '50s, it's no surprise that some skits haven't aged well.
    • During the skit where Wilkins is tasked with delivering a shipment of Wilkins Coffee via stagecoach, Wontkins refers to the Native Americans as Indians, who proceed to fire arrows on Wilkins' coach, since "everybody drinks Wilkins".
    • One skit sees Wilkins ask Wontkins for any last requests before the latter is sentenced to death via the electric chair. In the decades since, capital punishment has been discontinued in many U.S. states, and even the ones that still use it no longer have the electric chair as an option for it.
    • One commercial has Wilkins and Wontkins being boiled in Wilkins Coffee by cannibals, and although they're silhouetted, the cannibals are very clearly offensive native African depictions.

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