Brand mascots have been a part of some visual identities for over 100 years. They are characters that represent Brand’s values and culture in a fun and playful way. Brands with mascots are memorable and have a lot of personality associated with them.
My first encounter with brand mascots were Kellogg’s breakfast cereals. Tony the tiger for Frosties, Coco the monkey for Coco Pops and Snap, Crackle and Pop for Rice Krispies. Although there were other cereals, often imitations of the originals, the characters of these made me want them over their competitors. They were memorable, playful and fun.
Today, I still love the playful characters of brands. They evoke emotions and influence my decisions as a consumer. I love Pink Panther wafers and Pringles because of the fun characters on the packaging. Honestly, I wish more brands had mascots. I love mascots and think they are so powerful because they add personality and light-hearted playfulness to a brand . Recently, I’ve been reading the book Mascots and I’m fascinated by the effectiveness of mascots for so many different types of brands.
Some brand identities that utallise the power of mascots…
Nuud
Charlie is the playful brand mascot created for Nuud by Mother Design studio. Nuud is a plastic-free, sugar-free, vegan chewing gum brand. This mascot adds playfulness to the brand and makes Nuud stand out from other chewing gum brands. The hand-drawn, doodle-like design adds to the playfulness and makes the character distinctive.
Off Limits cereal
Much like the cereals I ate as a child, the mascots on the packaging of Off Limits cereals, Designed by Pentagram’s Astrid Stavro, make them memorable, fun and unique. However, these are aimed at adults and stand out in this market as adult-oriented cereals are often more serious looking and don’t have mascots. This makes Off Limits playful and helps them to stand out.
Go.Compare
Gio Compario has been the face of Go.Compare for many years, however he has now been made more prominent as he has been made into a digital cartoon character by Rami Niemi, whom Ragged Edge collaborated with for this part of the Go.Compare rebrand. I think this makes him more modern and makes Go.Compare stand out even more as he is now present at every touch point in the digital journey. His distinctive look with the big mustache has been translated amazingly into cartoon form. The character is distinctive and playful which makes the brand memorable and trustworthy.
Children in Need
Mascots can also be used to represent and give a playful personality to a good cause. Pudsey the Bear, created for BBC Children in Need, is an iconic example of this. Pudsey connects with the children in a fun way and makes the cause memorable and playful. Children in Need also introduced a second bear named Blush who is Pudsey’s friend. This further personifies and adds to the narrative of the character.
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