By Heather Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, PopIcon
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.16
Granted, this was a paid partnership between Progressive and First We Feast. The minisode used just a three-wing ramp-up and the questions from host Sean Evans were tailored to be specific to Dr. Rick’s persona. But it was thoroughly entertaining to watch Dr. Rick analyze various red flags indicating Evans might be experiencing parentamorphosi. (He is wearing a cardigan.)
Watching this episode got us thinking about all the other mascots, and spokescharacters, that might thrive in the “Hot Ones” hot seat. We’re not the only ones having this thought either. When we asked members of the advertising industry about which characters they think should go on the show, they came ready with a roster for the ages.
Their answers were so good, we’re compiling them below and quietly manifesting a minisode in which all five of these icons make cameos and prove they can take on the wings of death.
Grimace (McDonald’s)
Ask any Grimace enthusiast and they’ll tell you it makes perfect sense for Grimace to show up on “Hot Ones.” The McDonald’s mascot enjoyed a whirlwind birthday blowout in 2023, complete with a purple Grimace shake, and threw his first pitch at a New York Mets game this year. After the pitch, the Mets enjoyed a seven-game winning streak. Grimace was dubbed the Mets’ good luck charm and even given his own special purple seat at Citi Field’s ballpark.
Will Goldman, media communications supervisor at BluShark Digital, has thought out the details just enough to know the “Hot Ones” New York City studio location is within some proximity of the McDonaldland mascot. Grimace’s copyright and cross-culinary issues, on the other hand, are uh, for someone else to figure out.
“There is no better way to honor this purple hero who bore the burden of Mets baseball than to invite him onto a show where he attempts to eat hot wings of increasing spice intensity. This is the true hero’s journey,” said Goldman.
Mr. Clean
The nomination Sydney Tomasello, strategy director at Madwell, makes for Procter & Gamble’s Mr. Clean as a “Hot Ones” guest is unbelievably well thought out. We’re almost convinced the P&G icon is a lock for a future episode.
From Tomasello’s point of view, there’s potential “comedy gold” to be found in witnessing the visual deterioration of the ultra-pristine Mr. Clean — dressed in head to toe spotless white — in the vicinity of so many stain-inducing, saucy wings.
“Picture this: Mr. Clean, normally so composed, facing the increasing chaos of spicy wings, sweating as he struggles to keep his hands and face clean between bites,” said Tomasello. “Each level of heat could push him closer to his breaking point, all while he obsessively wipes his face, reaches for napkins, or even tries to clean up the sauce mid-interview. Seeing him loosen up and maybe even embrace the mess could be the ultimate Hot Ones transformation!”
Jake (State Farm)
Insurance marketing is a highly competitive industry. As such, Anthony Cintron, chief experience officer at DeVito/Verdi, has a hunch that the next best spokesperson after Dr. Rick would be (should be?) Jake from State Farm.
Audiences would click to watch, drawn to Jake’s relatable personality and down-to-earth sense of humor as a “Hot Ones” guest. Much like Mr. Clean, Cintron also envisions Jake would sweat his way to the wings of death — and maybe even struggle to maintain his spokescharacter’s composure.
“As the sauces get spicier, we could see ‘normal guy’ Jake trying to keep it cool, maybe even dropping some insurance wisdom in the process. He’s friendly and funny but seeing him sweat through the heat would be an authentic twist that’s sure to charm viewers. Plus, he could wear the classic red polo, sweating his way to meme-worthy status,” said Cintron.
Duo (Duolingo)
When Caity Barnes, senior social media strategist at Baldwin&, suggested Duolingo’s own Duo as a potential “Hot Ones” guest, we immediately co-signed on the idea.
The beloved owl mascot for the language learning website recently experienced a successful marketing stunt attending Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s “Sweat” tour. Where else would Duo, in all his “Brat” green feathery finery, be more embraced by fans? The “Hot Ones” studio as his next marketing stunt — er, we mean stop — makes sense.
“I think I speak on behalf of all zillenials everywhere when I say that owl could handle the heat, eat and leave no crumbs,” said Barnes. “Plus, the content the teams at Duolingo and Hot Ones would create!? I can only imagine how many memes they’d end up with.”
The Nutter Butter Cookie
The most legendary “Hot Ones” episodes are those where celebrity guests, like Conan O’Brien and Gordon Ramsay, get increasingly unhinged as they make their way through the gauntlet of spicy wings.
With that kind of chaotic disruption in mind, Bianca Bahamondes, executive editor at Secret Media Network, wants to nominate the Nutter Butter cookie as the next “Hot Ones” guest.
Our response? Tell us more. This wildly unusual pick has piqued our interest.
“Nutter Butter has everyone talking right now with their unhinged, mildly disturbing, social media content centering the Nutter Butter cookie mascot,” said Bahamondes. “The mascot fully embraces the chaotic and nostalgia of early 2000s graphics which I find incredibly intriguing – and it seems to be working for them and their new audience! The revived mascot has returned to our snack time conversations utilizing TikTok in a genius way.”
And as excellent an interviewer as Evans is, all bets would be off when it comes to knowing what kinds of answers to expect from Nutter Butter.
“I get a sense that interview would be unhinged in the best way and resonate with Hot Ones’ audience.”
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.
