By Heather Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, PopIcon
The 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is already shaping up to be quite different than previous years when it comes to which brand mascots will and won’t be featured as balloons and floats. Most noticeably absent from 2025’s lineup are the Sinclair Dino and Ronald McDonald along with the McDonald’s Big Red Shoe Car.
Don’t let your hopes deflate over this news. Plenty of Thanksgiving favorites like the Pillsbury Doughboy and Green Giant are back in the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade alongside new faces like the Serta Counting Sheep. Grab a plate filled with turkey and your favorite sides and dig into our roundup on the brand mascots joining this year’s parade route.
Serta Counting Sheep
Some readers may remember the Serta Counting Sheep celebrated their 25th birthday this year.
The iconic flock are the stars of their very first Macy’s Parade float, a Dream Generator where just one pull of a lever equals a good night’s sleep.
The Pillsbury Doughboy
Hoo hoo! The Pillsbury Doughboy, who is turning 60 years young this year, is returning to the Macy’s Parade in his signature massive balloon. His balloon is so big more than 250,000 crescent rolls can fit inside it!
Harvest in the Valley
Green Giant’s Harvest in the Valley float is a salute to Thanksgiving’s most popular vegetables. Both the Green Giant and Little Green Sprout make appearances on this float with the Green Giant kneeling to harvest ears of corn and Sprout gathering green beans.
Smokey Bear
Smokey Bear has spent the last eight decades advocating “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires” in the longest-running public service initiative in U.S. history. We’re delighted to see him return to the Macy’s Parade and encouraging one and all with his familiar, important message.
Goldbear
Previously, the Haribo Goldbear made his debut in the 98th Macy’s Parade with a larger-than-life balloon and “Candy Cosmos” float.
Both the balloon and the float, the latter of which will be festooned in all sorts of sweet gummi treats, are back in 2025.
Mario
Mario, the star of countless Donkey Kong games and the face of Nintendo, is making his first-ever appearance as a Macy’s Parade balloon.
It’s a partnership 20 years in the making, according to Jordan Dabby, Vice President, Partnership Marketing and Media at Macy’s Parade & Entertainment Group.
“Approximately 20 years ago when I first started working at Macy’s, our Executive Producer had a dream: to bring Nintendo to the Parade. For years I tried….and for years it just didn’t come together. There were close calls, but somehow it always slipped away. At long last, I’m incredibly proud to share that 2025 is finally our year,” Dabby wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Pasta Knight
Rao’s Homemade Pasta Knight float is back for year two in the Macy’s Parade! This knight is on a brave quest to banish dull weeknight dinners and face off against a fire breathing dragon. A closer examination of this float reveals it’s full of pasta shapes like penne, rigatoni, fusilli and many more.
Geoffrey’s Dazzling Dance Party
Before Santa Claus arrives to signal the end of the Parade, pump up the jam and get dancing with Toys”R”Us icon Geoffrey the Giraffe!
This brightly lit float encourages kids of all ages to play, dance and sing along. As the old company slogan goes, once a Toys”R”Us kid means you’re always a Toys”R”Us kid.
Watch the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade live on Thursday November 27, 2025, from 8:30 AM to 12 PM EST on NBC and Peacock.
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.
