By Heather Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, PopIcon
Three of my favorite brand mascots — the Pillsbury Doughboy, Kool-Aid Man, and the McNugget Buddies from McDonald’s — all have something in common with one another. Objectively speaking, they’re all weirdos.
Naturally, my personal bias is I think all three are delightful. I’ll giggle with the Doughboy, shout “Oh, yeah!” alongside the Kool-Aid Man, and grin at whatever daffy hijinks the McNugget Buddies are up to this time. When I take a step back and view these characters through an ordinary set of eyes, I’m aware it looks like I lost my marbles. I’m gung-ho for a pile of dough, a pitcher of sugary water, and chicken nuggets.
Then again, so is the rest of America with their own respective fan favorites like an encouraging striped tiger or insurance-hawking British gecko. That’s the power of great advertising and brand mascots. I’m emotionally bonded to these characters, and their respective brands, likely for the rest of my life since they’ve been with me since childhood. This kind of trust has been baked in for decades.
Outside my own oddball favs, I wondered what other unusual brand mascots the rest of adland has a great affinity for and why. Here’s who came out on top.
Frosted Strawberry
Breakfast toaster pastry brand Pop-Tarts made headlines in 2023 when they announced their Frosted Strawberry flavored Pop-Tart would be the first-ever Edible Mascot during the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Weber Shandwick, which partnered with Pop-Tarts to bring the mascot to edible life and consumption, said it was the brand’s biggest earned campaign ever with more than four billion impressions.
In June 2024, Pop-Tarts received the Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The brand also returned for the 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl with three edible mascots, including Frosted Cinnamon Roll, Frosted Wild Berry, and Frosted Hot Fudge Sundae, to triple the Game Day ante. Frosted Cinnamon Roll, a formerly discontinued flavor, was even available to shop for a limited-time online via the Pop-Tarts website.
Accolades aside, Pop-Tarts’ dark sense of humor towards all four of its edible mascots has made the activation particularly memorable with the advertising community.
“How can you not like seeing a giant Pop-Tart cheerfully descend into a toaster, only to reemerge lightly toasted and promptly devoured by football players during a College Bowl game?” asked Riani Kenyon, Behavioral Analyst at Canvas8, a consumer insights agency.
“They weren’t just there; they were there to provide genuine entertainment. To reemphasize, players literally dug into the toasted corpse of the mascot. What more could you ask for from a mascot?”
The King
If you think Ronald McDonald, the happy McDonald’s clown with a heart of gold, will be on this list, think again. Ronald’s antithesis The King from Burger King is far more appealing to fans, despite his historically off-putting behavior.
TJ Bitter, Head of Production at OddBeast, said he loves how The King brings the mischief and chaotic good energy. “With his plastic, shiny face and regular human body and hands, he had this smiling expression painted on that was both unsettling and hilarious. Whether he was waking up next to people in their beds offering breakfast, on the field for an NFL commercial, or being arrested for giving money to people (all fantastic spots), you could always count on The King providing a great commercial break.”
Though Burger King previously had a King mascot, the character received a renaissance in 2004 from CP+B to sell breakfast sandwiches. The new version of The King always smiled, never spoke, and created tension everywhere he went since he had a penchant for showing up in unexpected places. And it worked. The King changed the perception of a mascot’s capabilities with the public.
Bitter so enjoys The King he’s trying to harness a similarly chaotic spirit in OddBeast’s own mascot, Todd the thunderweasel.
“We have some big shoes to fill, though, if we want to be thought of in the same way that people think of The King,” he said.
Toomgis
When Chelsea Kauth, Executive Creative Director at Omelet, moved to California 15 years ago, she fell in love with the gentle giant mascot of ampm convenience store chain, Toomgis.
How do we describe Toomgis if you have no context for the character? His name is an acronym for “Too Much Good Stuff.” Toomgis stands exceptionally tall at 7’6”. Over 100 snacks and drinks make up his build.
Kauth’s love for Toomgis has allowed her imagination to run wild. She envisions the mascot’s veins run with high fructose corn syrup and he enters and exits the room in a puff of Cheeto dust.
“He’s the OG Gritty,” she said. “He’s part ‘Where The Wild Things Are,’ part hippie who loiters at a gas station. As the literal embodiment of an ampm, he’s also a wickedly smart device, transcending race, speaking multiple languages, and bringing joy to just about anyone who sees him on TV. The proof is in the countless bootleg uploads from his adoring fans on YouTube.”
The California Raisins
Jenn Szekely, President at Coley Porter Bell US, can’t forget about the California Raisins.
“These mascots have always stuck with me,” Szekely said. “The Claymation characters were a huge success in raising awareness and shifting perceptions of raisins, but also had a huge cultural impact, setting the stage for future mascots like the M&M’S.”
In 2018, PopIcon interviewed Seth Werner who came up with the idea for the California Raisins. Werner, a former copywriter at Foote Cone Belding, was assigned to work on the CalRAB, or California Raisin Advisory Board, account.
CalRAB was FCB’s smallest account, but it took off after Werner had a “Eureka!” moment where he imagined a bunch of raisins dancing to the song “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” Werner worked alongside stop motion director Will Vinton to bring the raisins to clay animation life and said the cost of licensing the iconic song was $250,000 a year.
The commercials, and the California Raisins, were an overnight sensation with the CalRAB board, FCB, and audiences everywhere. As Werner told us, the Raisins went viral before it was a thing to go viral.
“It is quite amazing to think about the accomplishments of the Raisins, considering their popularity was years before social media,” said Szekely. “They had albums, and world-renowned artists involved such as Buddy Miles, Ray Charles and Michael Jackson. They are even featured at the Smithsonian.”
Ronny Young, Founder and President at OddBeast, is also a fan of the California Raisins. To this day, Young said he can’t name another brand of raisin which further speaks to the positive effects in creating long-term brand awareness.
“The beauty of this chaotic magic is what I remember from my youth, a time when we were allowed to be silly and just have fun,” he said. “Let’s all have more fun and create weird singing raisins.”
About the Author
Heather Taylor is the senior writer and editor-in-chief of PopIcon, Advertising Week’s blog about brand mascots. Got a pitch on brand mascots or want to wax nostalgic about characters? Drop her a line at howveryheather@gmail.com.