this machine will make you want a cup of wilkins coffee
Courtesy of The Footnotes of Mad Men (via kottke) comes this wickedly disturbing set of commercials directed by Jim Henson for Wilkins Coffee.
Lots of info about the spots at the Muppet Wiki[1], including this great quote from Senator John Marshall Butler (R-MD) from a 1959 press release criticizing the quality of broadcast television...
About the only clever advertising on the air today is 'Wilkins and Wontkins'. It pleases rather than irritates television audiences, and I am happy to learn that this series is bringing increased sales to the sponsor.
The gun to the head is a nice touch.
[1] Seriously, I love the web.