Grandi was played by Eeki Mantere from the beginning of the character in the 1970s until 1999.
The advertisements are parodies of typical 1920s-era adventure movies where a group of villains kidnap a woman and torture her by withholding water and other drinks from her.
Somewhere at a distance, Kari Grandi hears her cries for help and rushes to her aid.
The narration of the advertisements always ends with an established catchphrase: In English: The character's name is an obvious homage to the actor Cary Grant.
The character Kari Grandi was himself parodied in the Finnish sci-fi movie Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, in the form of Babel 13 security officer Mihail Karigrandi (English name: Mikhail Garybrandy), who is a parody of the Babylon 5 character Michael Garibaldi.