Fans of the frozen food company Birds Eye may recall there was a time when the brand had another mascot that wasn’t the pioneering Captain Birds Eye. The mascot’s name was Clarence, and he was a polar bear that lived inside your freezer.

As human beings get older, their tastes tend to evolve and mature. Such cannot be said for brand mascots, especially those in the breakfast space.

Orbi made its debut on the Sphere’s LED screen in 2023 and has since been a daily fixture on its exterior making funny faces to capture each day’s feelings and emotions.

PopIcon had been closely following the story of the iconic bird’s demise which turned out to be, as we suspected, just a marketing stunt.

Perhaps we were too hasty to make declarations that 2025 is the year of the brand mascot. Or were we?

Who better to announce the return of McDonald’s menu fan favorite Shamrock Shake than two beloved McDonaldland icons? On February 4, Uncle O’Grimacey, Grimace’s Irish uncle, reunited for the first time in decades with his nephew.

If you have any doubts that brand mascots are fading into obscurity, the commercials for Super Bowl LIX prove advertising’s hardest working characters are so back.

When Instacart announced in November 2024 they’d be dropping their first Super Bowl ad in 2025, nobody anticipated the teaser would feature an all-star lineup of mascots.

Looking back at these forgotten cereals, it’s clear that the 1970s were a playground for experimental flavors, wacky mascots, and marketing gimmicks that truly went for it.

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.

Remember Cornelius, the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes mascot? Here in the United States, the character was created at Chicago ad agency Leo Burnett and made his debut on cereal boxes in 1957. “Corny,” as the character was nicknamed, was illustrated with a green body, red comb, yellow beak and a whole lot of personality.

What do yetis, sunglasses, cinnamon rolls, and the song “Satisfaction” by Benny Benassi all have in common? Each has a starring role, or an extremely prominent cameo, in PopIcon’s ranking of 2024’s five best Christmas ads.

What’s better than one edible mascot? Three edible mascots, according to Pop-Tarts — and we’re in agreement! The Pop-Tarts Bowl is back on December 28, 2024. This time, it’s triple the Crazy Goodness with three new Edible Mascots Game Day-bound.

Could you impressively parallel park in front of Mayhem, the iconic Allstate spokesperson? Even the most confident parallel parking pro would feel some pressure getting it right.

This year’s celebration airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock is slated to be the largest celebration yet with 22 giant balloons, 33 floats, seven balloonicles and many more festivities.

Aldi UK’s much-anticipated 2024 Christmas campaign officially premiered on November 4th to the delight of Aldi shoppers everywhere.

Did you catch Progressive’s Dr. Rick on the hit YouTube series “Hot Ones?” The wildly popular talk show series known for its hot questions and even hotter wings recently featured its first-ever brand spokesperson as a guest in an October mini episode.

Yellow and Green are in a new BBDO New York campaign crossing over into the Snickers universe. Across the pond, Red is partnering with smart home security manufacturer Ring UK and Ireland to activate Halloween mode in your Ring doorbell.

Hi, Chewbie! The fruity, chewy candy brand HI-CHEW has officially debuted their first official mascot, Chewbie, to the world.

Whether bursting through walls or simply bringing a smile to people’s faces, the Kool-Aid Man continues to be a beloved character, reminding us all to embrace the fun and refreshing moments in life.