{"id":19757,"date":"2020-10-13T06:21:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T10:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/?p=19757"},"modified":"2026-09-16T18:22:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T22:22:54","slug":"meet-the-winning-mascots-of-the-2020-madison-avenue-walk-of-fame-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/meet-the-winning-mascots-of-the-2020-madison-avenue-walk-of-fame-2\/19757\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Winning Mascots of the 2020 Madison Avenue Walk of Fame!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Heather Taylor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2004, Advertising Week has celebrated the greatest icons in the advertising landscape \u2014 the brand mascot \u2014 by inducting two winners each year into our Madison Avenue Walk of Fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2020 has been an unprecedented year for all of us. The novel coronavirus outbreak was upgraded to a global pandemic by the WHO in March 2020. The \u201cnew normal\u201d now includes masks, social distancing, and for many of us in and out of the advertising industry, working from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid COVID-19, #AW2020 went fully virtual for the first time ever. The show must go on for our New York event, which was streamed into homes all over the world through Zoom videoconferencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2020 Madison Avenue Walk of Fame Nominees<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The 2020 Madison Avenue Walk of Fame brand mascot nominees<\/a> were a reflection of the changing times. Mascots symbolizing comfort foods, like Betty Crocker and the Green Giant, received nominations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other characters included the Charmin Bear Family, as a nod to the (brief) nationwide toilet paper shortage of March\/April 2020. New icons, like Nuts Von Crazy from Little Caesar\u2019s, JET-PUFFED\u2019s Jet-Puffed Pals, and Philthy from Yards Brewing Company received first-time nominations. Long-time favorites ranging from Captain Obvious of Hotels.com fame to AT&T\u2019s Lily were among the nominated spokespeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Winning Mascots<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Who won? Even our team was surprised by this year\u2019s winners!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drumroll please\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our host, Dole\u2019s Bobby Banana, announced the winners are\u2026 Philthy from Yards Brewing Company and StarKist\u2019s Charlie the Tuna!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2020\u2019s Madison Avenue Walk of Fame Winners: Yards Brewing Company\u2019s Philthy and StarKist\u2019s Charlie the Tuna!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When we announced the winners over Zoom, each respective brand mascot team was elated and surprised to hear their iconic characters had won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Philthy, an IPA party animal that also goes by the \u2018That Philthy Little Hop Monster\u2019<\/a> nickname, was created by ad agency Brownstein Group for Yards Brewing Company<\/a>. Philthy was launched during COVID-19, making the character one of the rare brand mascots to be born out of a pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very happy to be in such great company!\u201d Adrian Castillo, Creative Director at Brownstein Group said during their acceptance speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Castillo thanked the team at Brownstein Group, particularly designer Matt Rondos who is credited for unearthing the Victorian era illustrations that served as Philthy\u2019s inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so pleasantly surprised, and shocked, we didn\u2019t prepare a speech!\u201d Andy Mecs, Vice President of Marketing and Innovation at StarKist<\/a> exclaimed upon hearing Charlie the Tuna had won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie\u2019s win has been a long time in coming for the brand mascot. The iconic tuna has been nominated for several years in the Madison Avenue Walk of Fame. In 2020, he was finally able to swim upstream into hearts of voters.<\/p>\n\n\n