I love a brand mascot.
I feel like my childhood was populated by figures like The Honey Monster, Tony the Tiger & The Peperami Animal. But the idea that we as a nation will sit down to watch some unifying TV (and the ads) feels about as distant in time as me thinking that eating three Hot Peperamis constituted a decent tea.’
Which means those uniting, fun characters that help people identify and engage with brands are also a thing of the past, right? Makes sense that in a fragmented world, they’re harder to land.
I think so. But then I look at the landscape and the Meerkats are still going strong, the M&M’s are on TV, Captain Birdseye has been given a glow-up, Gio Compare is on Strictly and Snap, Crackle & Pop are still on my kids’ cereals.
Most of those have been around for years, so maybe it’s hard to launch a new mascot into this fractured media world? Then again, Kevin the Carrot has stolen the last few Christmases and people often tell us how Carl the Wombat has given The Meerkats a new lease of life.
Despite the difficulty of launching anything new into our cultural consciousness, I do believe that brand mascots still work for people & brands.
In fact whenever we research work that features a brand mascot people tend to respond pretty positively. With so much seriousness around everyone is crying out for a bit of simple fun. Particularly in low-interest categories where the introduction of a mascot helps the brand tell more interesting stories or show the value of a low-engagement product.
Which doesn’t mean they’re always a success. I remember doing research on Workie the Pensions Monster years ago which didn’t really work out. But Workie fell into the trap of failing to have a distinct personality or reason for being.
What you always find in research is that people are quick to spot when creative device is used in place of an actual idea. The biggest pitfall a brand can fall into is to try and use a mascot to shortcut to success, but it’s role and reason for being aren’t liked to a tighter strategic thought. In which case, they can fall into the trap of feeling childish and frivolous.
It's hard to launch anything into the national consciousness. And the media landscape is harder than ever. But more than anything, a bit like jingles and Peperamis, brand mascots have just gone a bit out of fashion.
When budgets are squeezed, and clients want the latest ‘thing’ it’s quite tricky to offer up an advertising construct that’s anchored in ‘days of yore’. But if you’ve got a character with real personality and ties-in with your brand, I think people are still receptive to them.
