Character Study: Chiquita Banana

As with many animated advertising mascots, Chiquita Banana was the brainchild of an established cartoonist – in this case, Dik Browne, creator of Hagar the Horrible. His potassium-powered pitchwoman hit the airwaves in 1944, crooning a signature tune penned by BBDO and sung by ‘40s vocalist Patti Clayton:
 
"I'm Chiquita banana and I've come to say
Bananas have to ripen in a certain way
When they are flecked with brown and have a golden hue
Bananas taste the best and are best for you.”
 
As informative as it was catchy, the jingle went a long way toward familiarizing Americans with what was, at the time, still considered an exotic fruit. Along with a certain famous hat, it also helped cement Chiquita’s iconic ad character status, even after the character itself was re-conceptualized as a human woman in 1987.
 

Character Study is an ongoing series featuring background trivia on the classic advertising characters from the private collection of MLT Creative.

 

Chase Mitchell is a copywriter at MLT Creative, an Atlanta-based advertising agency specializing in business-to-business marketing.