Mr. George Whipple (also known as George the Grocer)[1] is a fictional supermarket manager featured in television commercials, radio, and print advertisements that ran in the United States and Canada from 1964 to 1985 for Charmin toilet paper.[1][2] Typically, Whipple scolds customers who "squeeze the Charmin," while hypocritically entertaining such actions himself when he thinks no one will notice. The character and catchphrase were created by John Chervokas of the agency Benton & Bowles.[3][4][5] Prominent ad-man Sid Lerner also worked on the campaign.[6][7][8][9]

The first commercial featuring Mr. Whipple set the tone of the advertising campaign, which Advertising Age designated as among the top 100 campaigns of the 20th century.[3] Whipple is seen looking around the corner of the supermarket (either he is at the checkout or stocking shelves) at a female customer, commenting that first she is squeezing the tomatoes, then the melons, and then (in a classic comic "triple") when she arrives at the Charmin, he cannot contain himself and approaches her, uttering his famous plea "Please don't squeeze the Charmin!"[10]

"Mr. Whipple" was played by Dick Wilson,[5] a character actor who also appeared in many TV sitcoms during the 1960s and 1970s. Between 1964 and 1985, Wilson appeared as Whipple in more than 500 commercials for Charmin.[11]

In some commercials, Mr. Whipple was accompanied by a stock boy named Jimmy, played by Adam Savage, known decades later for the television series MythBusters. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a competing grocer named Mr. Hoffmeier appeared in Charmin commercials as well. However, Hoffmeier encouraged his customers to squeeze the Charmin,[12] and he scolded Whipple on his hypocrisy. By the late 1980s, Mr. Whipple was encouraging customers who weren't buying Charmin to squeeze it. One commercial featured him using a fishing rod to place the product in a skeptic's shopping cart.

In 1999, after a 14-year hiatus, Mr. Whipple returned in various Charmin commercials involving why he could not retire, with the answer being that he had to inform the public about Charmin. A later series of commercials featured him with the new slogan, "Is Mr. Whipple watching?" In 2000, Procter & Gamble presented Wilson with a lifetime achievement award as a subsequent advertising campaign began[1] for Charmin that features Charmin Bears, a family of anthropomorphic cartoon bears.

Wilson died of natural causes on November 19, 2007, at the age of 91, in California.[11] Soon after, on November 28, 2007, a new Charmin commercial debuted on television, featuring old clips and paying tribute to Dick Wilson and Mr. Whipple. The tribute indicated that the deceased actor will be "In Our Hearts Forever."[citation needed]

In culture

According to a 1970s survey,[citation needed] Mr. Whipple topped then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter as the most recognizable face in North America. According to Charmin makers Procter & Gamble, a 1978 survey found that Mr. Whipple was the third best-known American, behind former President Richard Nixon and evangelist Billy Graham.[1]

The country song "Don't Squeeze My Sharmon," which was a Top 10 hit for Charlie Walker in 1967, was inspired by the advertising campaign for Charmin.

In 1985, the lyric "You better squeeze all the Charmin you can when Mr. Whipple's not around" was included in the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "Dare to Be Stupid".

In 2001, the lyric "Shake junt staring, I don't mean no harmin'/Call me Mr. Whipple cause I want to squeeze the Charmin" was included in the Project Pat song "Ooh Nuthin".

In 2006, the lyric "You can call me Mr. Whipple, I won't do no harmin'/Never to the Charmin, come holla at me woman" was included in the Project Pat song "Good Googly Moogly".

Adam Savage, who portrayed Whipple's stockboy Jimmy in several commercials, paid tribute to Whipple on Savage's show MythBusters, showing a vintage Charmin commercial which features Savage. On an episode of the final season of MythBusters, Savage also dressed in a stockboy uniform, a likely nod to Savage's work with Charmin commercials.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "History of Charmin Toilet Paper". Charmin.com. Procter & Gamble. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  2. ^ Gorman, Steve (19 November 2007). "Charmin's Mr. Whipple actor Dick Wilson dead at 91". Reuters. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Jim (July 27, 2011). "Man credited with Charmin 'Squeeze' campaign dies". The Washington Times. Associated Press. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Taylor, Heather (31 October 2017). "AW Throwback: Charmin's Mr. Whipple". Advertising Week. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Mr Whipple: Please don't squeeze the Charmin! 20 years of toilet paper drama". clickamericana.com. Synchronista LLC. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  6. ^ "SIDNEY LERNER Obituary (2021) New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Sid Lerner 2013 Arents Award Recipient". Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  8. ^ Mulder, James T. (2 October 2011). "Syracuse University alumnus has made Monday the perfect day to go meatless or start other healthy things". The Post-Standard. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  9. ^ Commencement: 2019 Conferring of degrees at the close of the 143rd academic year (PDF) (Report). Johns Hopkins University. May 23, 2019. p. 13. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  10. ^ Cross, Mary (2002). A Century of American Icons: 100 Products and Slogans from the 20th-Century Consumer Culture. Greenwood Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-0313314810. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  11. ^ a b Gates, Anita (20 November 2007). "Dick Wilson, Squeezer of Tissue Rolls on Television, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  12. ^ Aubrey, Allison (August 9, 2010). "Campaign Aims To Make Meatless Mondays Hip" (transcript). Morning Edition. NPR, citing commercial. Retrieved May 8, 2019 – via WBUR.org.
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