This document discusses 21 brand mascots, including the Michelin Man, Mr. Peanut, The Laughing Cow, Mickey Mouse, Tony the Tiger, the Kool-Aid Man, Mario, Colonel Sanders, and the Geico Gecko. It provides the debut year and brief background for each mascot, highlighting how their designs effectively represent and promote their respective brands. Many of the mascots have been in use for decades and significantly contributed to their brand's success through highly recognizable and memorable characters.

1. Role of Brand
Mascots
Mascots that made the brand a
super hit
By
Chirag Warty

2. Michelin Man by Michelin
Debut: 1984
The iconic brand cartoon spokesman of the popular tire
company was named Bibendum but it has been widely
known as the Michelin Man! Being presented to the
world in the distant 1894 at the Lyon Exhibition by the
Michelin brothers, the idea behind this plump brand
mascot design was to represent a person made of tires.
Little did the creators know that this charming fictional
guy would become a largely popular and recognizable
figure which has significantly contributed to the vast
success of its brand.
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Chirag Warty

3. Mr. Peanut by Planters
Debut: 1916
This famous peanut gentleman has turned 100 years this
year! Mr. Peanut was actually not drawn by some
famous illustrator but by a 14-year-old boy back in 1916,
10 years after the company was founded. Ever since,
this brand mascot design has so much grown on the
public that when Planters conducted a survey 10 years
ago about whether to add a bow tie, a pocket watch or
some cufflinks to it, the public response was: Don’t
change a thing! A great design never gets old, doesn’t it?
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Chirag Warty

4. The Laughing Cow by… The
Laughing Cow
Debut: 1921
Well, here’s a brand mascot that has evolved a lot
throughout the years! Born in 1921, this cheerful cow has
appeared on the wrapping of all company’s products
ever since, making them highly recognizable. Not only is
this character instantly related to quality dairy products
but it also puts the viewers at ease since it is always
illustrated laughing. A strategy that simply works!
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Chirag Warty

5. Mickey Mouse by The Walt
Disney Company
Debut: 1928
Perhaps the first thought that pops in most people’s
minds when they hear a great brand mascot: Mickey
Mouse! Although these days a lot of cartoon characters
are easily associated with Walt Disney Company, this
friendly, lively mouse has been the official cartoon
representative of the giant company ever since its
creation, thus making it one of the oldest mascots which
are extremely popular worldwide and loved by people of
all ages.
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Chirag Warty

6. Jolly Green Giant by B&G
Foods
Debut: 1928
Guess 1928 was a successful year of creating
memorable, long-lasting brand mascot designs. Here
comes another one that survived through all these years:
Jolly Green Giant appearing on all the products of the
Green Giant brand. The cheerful friendly superhuman
has made the brand easily distinguishable from its
competitors and turned it into one of the brand leaders in
the industry of frozen and canned vegetables. Well done,
big guy!
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Chirag Warty

7. Rich Uncle Pennybags by
Monopoly
Debut: 1936
Rich Uncle Pennybags, or more widely known as simply
Mr. Monopoly has been around since 1936 but it was not
until 1946 that this famous drawn elderly gentleman
actually received his name. Undeniably, the rich cartoon
guy in tuxedo has become one of the most recognizable
brand mascot designs since it was made the star of the
original Monopoly game and all related games of the
company. These days, he keeps appearing on all new
Monopoly editions and is even incorporated in the
brand’s logo.
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Chirag Warty

8. Tony the Tiger by Kellog’s
Frosted Flakes
Debut: 1951
This one is often given as an example of a highly
successful mascot and with a good reason! The cereal
brand’s success simply wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t
for the friendly tiger character Tony, showing his
charming smile and giving his approval with a thumb up
from the cereal’s box. Being on the marketing field for
over half a century, Tony has become a favorite cartoon
character not only to a lot of children but to their parents,
too!
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Chirag Warty

9. kool-Aid Man by Kool-Aid
Debut: 1954
Initially known as the Pitcher Man, this unconventionally
shaped brand mascot was designed with a large smile
and a pitcher as a head entirely full of Kool-Aid flavored
drink. Targeting the kids as an audience, this famous
mascot has become the perfect example of a brand
character design depicting exactly what the company is
about – a refreshing drink that would quench the thirst of
any child.
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Chirag Warty

10. Cornelius (Corny) Rooster by
Kellogg’s Cornflakes
Debut: 1957
The famous rooster cartoon character was not always a
spokesman for the brand but it was certainly the most
memorable one since it was designed with a deep
meaning. This friendly colorful rooster Cornelius was not
only meant to be fun and playful animal brand mascot
but he was also a symbol of the early wakening and
starting off the day right – with a healthy breakfast.
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Chirag Warty

11. Mr. Clean by Procter &
Gamble
Debut: 1958
Being very little changed over the years, this bold
muscular man made its brand the best-seller on the
market for just six months in 1958! The huge success
stayed by the cleaning company’s side for many years
ahead, being an inseparable part of all its marketing
activities and campaigns. Nowadays, this muscular
cartoon guy is still highly recognizable and keeps its
brand on one of the leading places in the industry.
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Chirag Warty

12. Coco the Monkey by Coco Pops
Debut: 1963
Appearing as a brand cartoon representative in the
different countries for quite different timeframes (e.g, for
just two years in the USA but for more than half a
century in the UK), this friendly playful monkey with a
cap has become a favorite face of many children, smiling
at them from the box of their favorite breakfast cereal.
The design of this cute perky monkey easily evokes
connotations of laughter and entertainment which is the
reason he managed to captivate the hearts of so many
kids all over the world.
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Chirag Warty

13. Poppin’ Fresh by Pillsbury
Debut: 1965
The Pillsbury Doughboy has been on the marketing
stage since 1965 as a unique boy character made of
dough. The design of this cheerful cartoon character
includes a scarf and a chef hat which give the impression
of that this chubby chubby fella is a real master of
cooking. To a huge extend, this smiling boy contributed
to the success of the Poppin’ Fresh product line and
even started appearing in other brand’s commercials.
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Chirag Warty

14. Julio Pringles by Pringles
Debut: 1968
The choice of this charming mustachioed man as a
brand cartoon spokesman of the super famous and
successful chips company has a meaning that is not
quite obvious at first but makes a lot of sense if you think
about it more deeply. Julio Pringles has a head shaped
like a piece of chips which, by the way, implies that all
the chips pieces inside the unique package are equally
sized. Also, the mustaches give the feeling of maturity
and professionalism. Great job!
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Chirag Warty

15. Quicky by Nesquik
Debut: 1973
The most famous bunny brand mascot loved by many
people all over the world – the Nesquick’s Quicky! The
choice of this animal as a brand representative is not a
coincidence. The bunny evokes instant connotations with
speed which implies: you can easily prepare the
chocolate-flavored drink, then quickly drink it and you’re
good to go! Quicky’s outfit which gives him the really
“cool” look is also symbolic and an inseparable part of
this cartoon character’s design.
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Chirag Warty

16. Mario by Nintendo
Debut: 1981
Did you know that this memorable Italian plumber
character was initially called Jumpman? That’s right!
Even though Mario was not designed with the typical
appearance of a superhero, he grew on the wide public
so much that he has now become an iconic character,
recognizable all over the world. An interesting fact about
this cartoon character’s design is that it was entirely
determined by the limitations of the graphics of the early
video games – blocky pixels are the reason he is now a
proud owner of a mustache and a big nose!
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Chirag Warty

17. Captain Morgan
Debut: 1983
Inspired by a real person, the famous alcoholic beverage
company’s brand hero was actually designed by Don
Maitz, an artist who is a master of science fiction
illustrations. Being the only rum brand with a pirate
captain as a mascot, this character made the alcoholic
beverage highly recognizable among the others and
became a symbol of quality rum.
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Chirag Warty

18. Chester Cheetah by Cheetos
Debut: 1986
The famous cheetah mascot has been by Cheetos’ side
for a few decades now. This memorable animal
character has overgone several transformations
throughout the years regarding the message he conveys
to his target audience but his overall appearance has
pretty much stayed the same. Besides being the face of
all Cheetos’ products and the star of all Cheetos’
commercials, this cool cartoon guy even became the
protagonist in a few Nintendo games.
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Chirag Warty

19. Mr. Muscle by S. C. Johnson
& Son
Debut: 1986
The same year that Cheetos presented their famous
cheetah character, another company in another industry
came up their handsome superhero cartoon character
who has now become a legend: Mr. Muscle! This
muscular brand mascot, owned by S. C. Johnson & Son,
became highly popular as the tough guy who could clean
any surface with his cleaning detergent as a powerful
weapon, which led to a huge success to his brand.
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20. The M&M’s Spokescandies by
Mars
Debut: 1995
The company with not one but five recognizable
mascots! The choice of the cute colorful spokescandies
as brand representatives was such a clever decision of
Mars since these guys entirely gave the idea of the
M&M’s product line and simply couldn’t be confused with
anything else. Since they were five, the company gave
them names corresponding to their colors which made
them super easy and intuitive for the audience to
remember. Nice move, Mars!
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Chirag Warty

21. Colonel Sanders by KFC
Debut: 1998
Here is a brand mascot design resembling the founder of
the company itself: Colonel Sanders, a founder of KFC!
Who would have thought that a human face could make
such a memorable and widely known mascot,
incorporated even in the company’s logo. Created years
after the death of its founder, this friendly smiling face
with glasses, white hair and goatee certainly has turned
out to be a super successful choice of a brand character
conveying professionalism and vast chef experience.
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Chirag Warty

22. Geico Gecko
Debut: 2000
The quirky lizard character’s name was actually chosen
due to the many mispronunciations of the brand name
itself. Being the first most identifiable brand
representative of the car insurance company, this
cartoon character has certainly become a legend. True, it
was not designed as the usual cute-looking brand
cartoon but still managed to grow on the audience as a
little green insurance expert conveying professionalism
and reliability.
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Chirag Warty