By Heather Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, PopIcon
Some characters exist for hundreds of years as active brand mascots after being introduced into the world. Others are meant to have much shorter lifespans.
Charlie is the new, first-ever mascot for The Habit Burger Grill, but don’t expect him to start cracking wise with customers. For burgers at The Habit to keep being delicious, this little charcoal briquette must fulfill his date with destiny.
“Better By Char”
Charlie, an animated briquette, was created by creative agency Barrett Hofherr, the AOR for The Habit Burger Grill. The new campaign communicates that grilling charburgers is what sets The Habit apart from other burger joints in making better burgers.
To make The Habit’s famous Charburger, it must be cooked over briquettes on an open flame. Charlie is simultaneously the star of this campaign and one of those briquettes. A delicious Charburger cannot be made without his demise — and Charlie is willing to heroically take one for the team.
“Chargrilling takes more effort, but it’s also what makes a Charburger so delicious,” said Todd Eisner, Executive Creative Director for Barrett Hofherr. “So, what better way to celebrate that than by showing a briquette make the ultimate sacrifice to make the ultimate burger?”
The commercial features Charlie entering one of The Habit locations. He’s wide-eyed and grinning, waving to customers as he heads to the back of the house. The customers give him nods and smiles. They know what’s about to happen and so does Charlie.
Charlie swan dives onto the grill. Careful editing cuts to show us a tasty, chargrilled burger: what Charlie’s existence ultimately gives us.
“With this campaign, we are eager to show the world why our Charburgers taste better,” said Ken Chan, Head of Digital & Storytelling at The Habit Burger Grill. “Charlie may be an adorable, animated briquette, but he embodies the passion and commitment to quality that is at the heart of everything we do.”
Not the First Brand Mascot To Perish For Greatness
Charlie the Briquette recalls other brand mascots that are quite literally designed to die in commercials and advertisements.
Some of these mascots are characters we love to hate, like the Raid Bugs. Others like Hingie, the face of the dating app Hinge, really do take the L for love.
Hingie was created by ad agency Red Antler. The more couples meet and fall in love after using Hinge, the more they’re able to fulfill the app’s tagline and delete it afterwards. Subsequently, Hingie must also self-destruct but he’s more than happy to do it in the name of love.
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.
