Charlie the Tuna

Charlie the Tuna, 1961 (Chicago, Ill.) -

VP candidate for Finicky Party (1992)

Running mate with nominee: Morris the Cat II (ca1978-1997)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

According to the July 22, 1992 Cincinnati Enquirer, when Morris the Cat II made his second run for the Presidency his running-mate was StarKist Tuna animated spokesfish Charlie the Tuna. Both commercial mascots were handled at the time by the Leo Burnett Company, an advertising agency.

StarKist had originally owned 9-Lives cat food (with Morris the Cat in the ads) and StarKist Tuna (with Charlie the Tuna) but sold out to Heinz in 1963, who in 1992 still own both brands. Comedian (and later film director) Adam McKay wrote Morris' pun-filled Presidential announcement speech.

Charlie was created by Burnett adman Tom Rogers (d. 2005) in 1961. He based the character on Jazz hipster Henry Nemo (1909-1999). Charlie was voiced by Herschel Bernardi (1923-1986), who had been blacklisted in Hollywood during the McCarthy Era. The animation was by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.

In the tradition of suicide food mascots, Charlie continually wants to be caught by StarKist because he has "good taste," but is always rejected because StarKist wants tuna that "tastes good." Usually the rejection came in the form of a note attached to a fish hook that read, "Sorry, Charlie," which became a wider popular expression in the 1960s and beyond. I remember those earliest Charlie the Tuna ads with great fondness.

Aside from mention of him at the campaign announcement, Charlie the Tuna apparently was not a strong presence in the Morris the Cat II for President effort. There were some slight problems with Charlie taking office in the event the Morris/Charlie ticket actually won. First off, the standard bearer was a cat. Secondly, Charlie at age 31 was below the Constitutionally mandated 35 years. Third, he was a fish and fourth he was a cartoon, although technically there is probably nothing in the Constitution that specifically forbids that-- but I'm not a legal expert.

Morris the Cat II died in 1997 and one of the subsequent Morris the Cats ran for President in 2012. Charlie the Tuna ran for President himself in 2016 as "America's alTUNAtive candidate." I found one reference suggesting he also ran for President in either 1964 or 1968 but cannot verify the year.

Election history:
2016 - US President (Independent) - defeated

Other occupations: fish

Notes:
Charlie was practically retired after Bernardi died in 1986 but the character was revived in 1999.

Sonny the Dog

Sonny the Dog

VP candidate for Finicky Party (1988)

Running mate with nominee: Morris the Cat II (ca1978-1997)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

I finally found the 1988 running-mate with Morris the Cat. It was Sonny the Dog. It took some digging (heh-heh, get it?). Yup I got the scoop on this one (bwhahahaha! [slaps his knee])

9-Lives cat food launched a commercial promotional campaign in Aug. 1987 using the Presidential race as a vehicle, nominating their orange tabby spokesfeline, Morris the Cat. Running as an independent (what would you expect? Morris was a cat after all) Morris enjoyed a higher national name recognition than several of the major party candidates early in the campaign season. The Leo Burnett Company handled the public relations.

The 1988 nominee was actually the second Morris the Cat. The original Morris died in July 1978 in his upper teens. Both cats were found in rescue shelters and in addition to being an advertising mascot, the popular Morris was also used to promote pet responsibility and raised money at charitable events for animal adoption agencies. 

Eleanor Mondale, the daughter of 1984 Democratic Presidential nominee former VP Walter Mondale, was the spokesperson for Morris' first press conference. Seriously. You have to smile at this no matter what your place is on the political spectrum when you read her introduction: "May I introduce a candidate with the quiet demeanor of a Coolidge, the animal magnetism of a Kennedy, and with the honesty of a Lincoln, a candidate who may shed but will never shred, a candidate who stands four square behind the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of din-din."

There was a brief contest sponsored by 9-Lives in March 1988 to see if another cat could be the running mate with Morris, but that apparently did not get too far in terms of finding a suitable candidate. In April 1988 at an event in San Diego's US Grant Hotel called the Fur Ball, the Vice-Presidential nomination could be acquired when the vote was quite frankly bought with dollars donated to the San Diego Humane Society. You have to admire the total transparency here-- unlike some major and even minor parties we could name-- that money can quite frankly buy a nomination. The candidates were Sonny the Toyota-driving Dog, Tony the Llama (twice a candidate for Mayor of Ramona, Calif.), Spuds MacKenzie, Choplifter, Sandy the SPCA Dog, and KC the SPCA Cat. In an upset, Sonny supporters out-donated the odds-on-favorite Tony supporters, $465 to $181.

Sonny was used as a mascot for Toyota dealers in the San Diego area in the late 1980s. In local television ads he was frequently shown driving a pickup truck with a human passenger.

9-Lives withdrew Morris from the Presidential race in September. One spokesman explained why shortly after the election, "We thought Morris might win."

1988 would not be the last hurrah for Morris the Cat in politics. He ran again in 1992 and beyond.

Election history: none

Other occupations: dog

Buried: ?

Notes:
Not the first time a canine was a VP nominee, but it is the first time a cat and dog were on the same
 ticket.
By a strange coincidence another Sonny in California, Sonny Bono, was elected the Mayor of Palm
 Springs at the same time Sonny the Dog won the VP nomination.