Of Course You Realize THIS Means Podcast - A Looney Tunes Discussion · thismeanspodcast

This Means Promos! The Art of Selling with Looney Tunes: Guest Mike Manolo

·1 hr 9 min·2 clips

The same directors who created Bugs Bunny masterpieces were secretly selling cereals and Tang to kids.

Jonathan Graves welcomes Mike Manolo back for a conversation about promos. They center the discussion on Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes-inspired promotions made to sell other brands. An old Cartoon Network promo is the spark, the sort of odd little thing that can pull an archive back into view. From there, the conversation opens into the larger history of cartoon advertising. The pair keep tracing the idea back to the 1950s, which gives the episode a clear sense of lineage. Fritz Freeling comes up as part of the creative trail. Chuck Jones does too, along with the signatures that make his work easy to spot. Dorothy Jones is part of the story as the person whose support helped bring him into the project. The episode also names Ralph Wright among the credited writers. On the performance side, the cast list is part of the appeal. Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, Red Buttons, Mel Blanc, Paul Frees, and Thurl Ravenscroft all get mentioned in the context of the project. Graves and Manolo move easily between memory, craft, and production history. They talk about what makes these promos feel like more than disposable advertising. The animation details matter. So do the expressions, the timing, and the little Chuck Jones touches that show up in the material. The conversation keeps its fan-led, slightly loose energy. Near the end, the episode shifts to a contest update and names the winners who submitted the right Bugs Bunny title guesses. It closes with a reminder to watch the show's social media for the next round and to expect follow-up on the mailing details.

As heard by us

A neat look at Looney Tunes promos and the people behind them.

This Means Promos! makes a neat case for a niche corner of animation history. Jonathan Graves and Mike Manolo treat the Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes promo work as something worth real attention, and the episode moves cleanly from Fritz Freeling and Chuck Jones to Dorothy Jones…

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a guided tour through Looney Tunes-style promos for other brands.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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