A spokesperson can be an invaluable element to a company’s advertising. Michael Jordan is among the greatest players in the history of the NBA. His successful endorsements for Nike, Hanes, Gatorade and others have put him at the top in the category of greatest spokesperson. That doesn’t mean he would be the right choice for any brand, any product. In fact, sometimes the best spokesperson isn’t even real.
Many brands opt for a mascot instead of a spokesperson. A company can create a compelling cartoon type character to represent their brand or develop a character that an actor can portray. Those are often based on real people.
Animated or cartoon style mascots, like Smokey Bear, won’t ever embarrass your brand. We’ll never wake up some morning to a news story that Smokey was busted for accidentally starting a fire. Real people, who are paid to endorse a product, live in the real world and bad behavior happens. A mistake by a spokesperson, large or small, can damage a brand. Subway anyone? You run a similar risk with a real actor playing a character but there’s some separation. Mr. Clean didn’t cause the accident, the actor playing him at the time did.
Here are our 10 favorite mascots and characters…
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Tony The Tiger
In a market dominated by colorful characters, Tony stood out from the pack and brought the “nutritious” Frosted Flakes to kids’ tables every morning. While the voice has changed several times since 1952, this cool cat’s positive attitude has not.
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Ronald McDonald
While many claim clowns to be horrifying, McDonald’s sales since the ‘60s can be used as an argument against that. The most interesting thing about the clown is that while the fast-food side of the business may have phased him out – he continues to visit thousands of children a year through the company’s nonprofit organization, Ronald McDonald House Charities.
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Wendy
The little girl used in Wendy’s advertising is based on a real person – the founder’s daughter. Dave Thomas founded Wendy’s in 1969 and used a picture of his daughter Melinda Thomas for the logo. Dave Thomas appeared in over 800 commercials for his company. After Dave passed, Melinda went on to be featured in a line of commercials as well. To our knowledge, Melinda Thomas is the first to proceed their parent as a spokesperson for the same company.
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Energizer Bunny
For over 30 years, this bunny keeps going. When it debuted for Energizer, Duracell already had a pink bunny that consumers were well familiar with. Somehow the Energizer bunny powered through the confusion and a legal battle with Duracell in the ‘90s.
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Colonel Sanders
The original Colonel may have started out as a salesman, but the entity has evolved into a character over the years by the countless actors portraying him. While the original Colonel is now gone, his persona continues to be one of KFC’s strongest marketing elements.
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GEICO Gecko
From the Caveman to the Camel, GEICO turned a wide range of mascots and characters into marketing material. Since 1999, the gecko has maintained its popularity and relevance.
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The Burger King
From a logo of him sitting on a burger throne to completely shaving off his beard, the Burger King has seen several iterations over the past 65 years. He’s appeared in sitcoms, video games, and even was dubbed as an NFL Rookie of the Year candidate. However, his greatest achievement was joining Floyd Mayweather’s entourage for his fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2015.
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Barbie
Barbie was a multipurpose character. On one hand she was the literal product, but on the other she was also the character that brought little girls into toy stores around the world. She became a collectible, a movie star, and an overall global icon.
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Jack
Jack in the Box aired several commercials blowing Jack up until they dropped the character from their branding in the early ’90s. After an E. coli outbreak in ’93, that infected over 700 customers and took the lives of 4 others, Jack was brought back. They changed their marketing strategy to focus on the color white so the company would appear safe, clean, and okay.
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The Most Interesting Man In The World
Originally played by Jonathon Goldsmith, the Most Interesting Man in the World is our favorite advertising character. To our knowledge, he’s the first character, mascot, or spokesperson to ever suggest he doesn’t always use the product he is selling. “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I drink Dos Equis.” From a creative standpoint, it was perfect. Who in their right mind would believe that the most interesting man in the world only drinks beer?