Marlin Perkins started his nature show Wild Kingdom in 1963. In 1968, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau began a eight year run. Both Perkins and Cousteau raised the public's interest level in nature, therefore helping conservationists promote important issues such as habitat destruction and protection of endangered species. They also came across as a college professor type and an elitist.

Steve Erwin was able to get the common working class's attention and for that reason was at least as important as his more erudite predecessors.