Charley Says

Probably the most memorable PIF campaign ever, so let's start there.

"Charley" was an animated cat who appeared in a series of PIFs during the 1970s. In a sort of Pinocchio/Jiminy Cricket relationship, he and his little human friend would get into all sorts of jolly scrapes, at the end of which Charley would "miaow" the moral of the story and young Dominic would translate for the viewers' benefit: "Charley says never go anywhere with men or ladies you don't know!" The six films in total, made by Richard Taylor Cartoons for the COI, were "Falling in the Water", "In the Kitchen", "Matches", "Mummy Should Know", "Teapots" and "Strangers". Kenny Everett did the voice of Charley and the voice of the little boy was provided by Everett's young neighbour, called - drum roll - Dominic, so the character was named after him.

According to the BBC announcement about Charley Says being voted Britain's favourite PIFs(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4853042.stm), the COI believes that Charley made a real difference to people's lives, and he is certainly remembered with fondness by hundreds of viewers. But after being drowned in a lake, scalded with hot steam, crushed under the contents of a falling tablecloth and much more while trying to get the message across, I think he deserves to be.

British electronica group The Prodigy sampled the PIFs for their misspelt 1991 hit "Charly", which you can probably download from http://www.itunes.com/ or something. The films are available to view at the National Archives website: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/films/1964to1979/filmindex2.htm, again with transcripts and background information. The website, and the first Charley Says DVD, list 1973 as the year of production for all six films.