Few people even remember it, but Timer (the weird yellow thingie) did not originate with those PSAs. He was the main character in two kids’ TV movies that were meant to help them understand the body (hence the health food angle):
In The Incredible, Indelible, Magical, Physical Mystery Trip (1973), he leads two kids on a cartoon trip through their uncle’s body so they can learn how his smoking, drinking, high-stress, sedentary lifestyle is harming him so they can warn him in time. I particularly remember the final musical number, in which all the different body parts (the heart, the alveoli of the lungs, etc:characters they met along the way) join our heroes in Uncle Carl’s brain to sing along. I always wondered why the guy didn’t keel over right there.
In The Magical Mystery Trip Through Little Red’s Head (1974), he takes two other kids through their sister’s brain so they can learn how it works.
Of course, these movies only got repeated so many times, while the PSAs ran for at least a decade, so they overshadowed the specials in fairly short order. (Incidentally, Lee Unkrich, one of the co-directors of Finding Nemo, did a cartoon in the 1980s with a penis character called Mr. Happy, that I believe got some cable play back in the day. Focusing on sexual health, it perfectly mimicked the visual and animation style of the Timer PSAs.
At some point in the seventies, Pink Panther cartoons were introduced by a group of puppets: A pink flamingo, a southern belle goose, a giraffe, a squirrel, and the abominable snowman. They later appeared in a set of PSAs that ran for centuries, at least in Boston, un a variety of subjects:
Nutrition: “Abominable! What ARE you doing?” “Balancing my meal! Doo doo doo…”
Conservation: “Albert! Now you’ve left your window open, and you’re wasting heat!”
Money Management: (as car disappears into distance) “Always count your change!”
I also recall that the Great Space Coaster characters did a bunch of PSAs that continued to air long after the series ended.
