StarKist Reintroduces “Sorry Charlie” Catchphrase With a Twist

By Heather Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, PopIcon

How familiar are you with StarKist’s iconic “Sorry Charlie” catchphrase? Or the hippest tuna mascot under the sea, Charlie the Tuna?

Coinciding with National Sorry Charlie Day on April, StarKist has announced a new campaign “StarKist — The First Name in Tuna” developed in partnership with quench, StarKist’s creative agency. The campaign brings back its famous “Sorry Charlie” catchphrase in advertising to the next generation of tuna fish enthusiasts.

The Origin of “Sorry Charlie”

What does “Sorry Charlie” mean anyway? The origins of the memorable slogan go all the way back to when Charlie the Tuna was conceptualized at Leo Burnett. Tom Rogers, a copywriter at Leo Burnett, is credited with creating Charlie the Tuna, an animated beatnik tuna inspired by a friend of Rogers’.

Clad in a red beret and thick-rimmed glasses, Charlie was a tuna who believed his hip and cultured aesthetic was in such “good taste” that it was perfect for StarKist. The tuna brand good-naturedly rejected him time and time again, often via a note that read “Sorry Charlie.” As the narrator and voiceover actor Danny Dark explained, “StarKist doesn’t want tunas with good taste. They want tunas that taste good.”

Defeated though Charlie might have been in early commercials, nobody would dare say “Sorry Charlie” to this tuna on dry land. StarKist’s mascot and slogan have been extremely popular with consumers for decades and iconic in the advertising industry.

Sneak Peek at “The First Name in Tuna” Campaign

According to Michael Merritt Jr., Head of Marketing at StarKist, Charlie the Tuna’s return in The First Name in Tuna campaign will be playful and slightly more hands-on than brand mascots typically are in their line of work.

Some of the first commercials in the campaign show Charlie pitching new ideas to StarKist executives in the hopes these ideas reel in connections with today’s consumers.

And try as Charlie might to sell the “one true tuna flavor” in “The Perfect Catch,” StarKist executives remind him they have over 20 delicious flavors so there’s no need to commit to just one. The best response to let Charlie down easy? “Sorry Charlie.”

Charlie plans to remain undeterred during this campaign and hip to the 2025 tech landscape. StarKist’s upcoming ads in “The First Name in Tuna” campaign coming in April and May will feature two more of Charlie’s forward-thinking ideas including a drone delivery service and a virtual tuna assistant.

Here at PopIcon, we’ve only seen the drone delivery service commercial and enjoy the nod to the drone stylized to look just like Charlie. That’s quite an outstanding idea and design for a brand mascot to pitch, if you think about it!

“Charlie the Tuna is one of the most recognizable brand mascots in history so bringing him back in a fresh way was an exciting challenge,” said Peter Harris, Executive Creative Director at quench.

“With The First Name in Tuna campaign, we wanted to blend humor, nostalgia, and contemporary storytelling to reintroduce Charlie to a new generation while staying true to the brand’s legacy. The result is a campaign that’s both entertaining and a testament to StarKist’s commitment to quality and innovation.”

Image Credits: StarKist

About the Author

Heather Taylor is the senior writer and editor-in-chief of PopIcon, Advertising Week’s blog about brand mascots. Got a pitch on brand mascots or want to wax nostalgic about characters? Drop her a line at howveryheather@gmail.com.