StarKist Picks Tombras to Turn Charlie the Tuna Into a Viral Icon Again
Updated: Sep 1
TL;DR: StarKist has consolidated its US marketing with Knoxville-based Tombras, whose brief this fall is to make 65-year-old mascot Charlie the Tuna viral again — a lesson in how to redeploy dormant distinctive assets.
The move at a glance
On 21 July 2026 StarKist announced a marketing consolidation with independent agency Tombras, first reported by MediaPost. Adweek, Marketing Dive and LBBOnline covered the story through mid-August. Tombras will handle creative, media, and social under an integrated remit, with a new brand platform launching fall 2026 that specifically re-centres Charlie the Tuna, the mascot introduced in 1961.
The pitch was won on a specific idea: turn Charlie back into a distinctive brand asset that lives in social feeds and cultural moments, not just packaging. Coyne PR also took the PR AOR account earlier in the summer, meaning StarKist has substantially rebuilt its agency roster this year.
Why 65-year-old mascots are back
StarKist's move fits a wider CPG pattern in 2026. Dolmio brought back its puppets. Crocs launched Niles, a first-ever mascot. Chipotle leaned into Chipotle Guy. In an attention economy that rewards distinctive brand assets ruthlessly, mascots (which by definition are 100% owned, 100% distinctive, and instantly recognisable) are a bargain.
The trick is modernising execution without breaking the asset. Charlie has to feel current — TikTok, meme-native, participatory — without losing what made him 'Charlie' in the first place. Get it right and you save a decade of brand-recall investment. Get it wrong and you burn a piece of 65-year-old fluency.
Marketing Minute's read
For US CMOs of legacy brands, StarKist's move is worth studying for three reasons. First, agency consolidation to a mid-sized independent is a fast-growing pattern — the pitch story ('one team, one obsession, senior attention') is now beating the holdco pitch on smaller-billing legacy accounts. Second, distinctive brand asset redeployment is one of the highest-ROI moves available; if your brand has a mascot, a jingle or a shape that is 30+ years old, the question is whether you've earned the right to leave it dormant. Third, hiring a specialist PR AOR alongside a creative AOR (as StarKist has done) is the assembled-team model catching on across US CPG.
Watch for the launch of the new platform in fall 2026 to see how far Tombras is willing to push Charlie. The best signal will be whether the mascot appears in the wild — in memes, in short-form content — rather than only in owned channels. That will show whether the reintroduction actually landed.
Quick FAQ
Q: Which agency won StarKist?
A: Tennessee-based independent Tombras, on an integrated creative, media and social remit.
Q: What's the plan for Charlie?
A: A new fall 2026 brand platform aims to make Charlie the Tuna — introduced in 1961 — culturally relevant again in short-form social.
Q: Why does mascot revival matter?
A: Because a 65-year-old mascot is 100% owned, 100% distinctive and comes with decades of recall investment — huge distinctive-asset ROI if redeployed well.
Every category has a Charlie the Tuna — a fluency asset the brand has hidden in the marketing basement for a decade because it felt dated. StarKist is proving what most brand marketers forget: distinctive brand assets don't retire, they just need a modern platform to get back in the game. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The takeaway: your brand's oldest distinctive asset is probably its highest-ROI marketing lever, if you have the nerve to redeploy it.
What is the 30-year-old brand asset your team has been avoiding — and does 2026 give you the platform to bring it back?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Adweek, Marketing Dive, MediaPost, LBBOnline, PR Week.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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