The 5 Most Iconic Brand Characters and Why We Love Them
Does a hyperactive man-like creature dressed in a pink rabbit suit sound familiar? Unless you grew up in the 80s, probably not. The Noid™, Domino’s physical manifestation of hunger, hasn’t been used to sell pizza in decades — banished to memory and Family Guy reruns. Although The Noid is gone, personifying a brand is a clever strategy and one that has been used to great effect by some of the most recognizable brands in the world. Here are the five brand icons that have endured for generations and why we refuse to let them go.
1. Budweiser Clydesdales
The Budweiser Clydesdales have been a symbol for The King of Beers since 1933. Their majesty represent the end of prohibition, indeed a very good day to be a beer maker. The Clydesdales are powerful beasts that we can’t help but love fondly and look forward to seeing every Super Bowl. So much anticipation and loyalty for the horses exist that ahead of the 2010 Super Bowl, after Budweiser mentioned not having them in the ad lineup, fans took to social media with such vigor that the brewery quickly shot a spot with its mascots. Perhaps a young Clydesdale playing with a longhorn rings a bell? Besides being ridiculously cute, the Clydesdales have meaning and a history and therefore they have outlasted catchy taglines, trendy designs and croaking bullfrogs.
2. Coca-Cola Bears
Cold. Refreshing. Pure. The Coca-Cola bears’ white coats personify the Coca-Cola mission of sharing a cool drink and happiness with the world. Although, it wasn’t until 1993 that the animated polar bears became the lovable soda aficionados we know today. In the TV spot “Northern Lights” a group of polar bears watch the Aurora Borealis and drink Coca-Cola. It became one of those rare magical moments that bonded a brand with an emotion-an instant success for Coca-Cola Co. The story of the Coca-Cola Polar bears is remarkable and one of the reasons Coca-Cola has 94% global brand recognition.
3. The Jolly Green Giant
The Jolly Green Giant made his first appearance in 1925. Since then, The Green Giant has been the voiceless front-man for the brand on canned goods, in children’s books and within advertisements. Unlike many brand icons, The Green Giant has more than a personality and a catchphrase, The Green Giant has a backstory. Take away the products and The Green Giant remains a symbol of sustainability and the hero of bedtimes stories used to teach kids that eating vegetables will make you big and strong.
4. The Energizer Bunny
Although the Energizer Bunny may look cute and innocent, the history of the pink rabbit is anything but friendly. Energizer actually stole the idea of a battery powered rabbit from a 1773 Duracell ad. From there, Energizer crafted a hare of their own. The Energizer Bunny was cooler, scooted around the screen with an instantly recognizable “thump thump thump” on a base drum. It won our hearts and our adoration for the musically gifted rabbit keeps going and going.
5. Mr. Clean
Is he a pirate or Santa’s bad ass cousin? Close. Mr. Clean has his own website and origin story in which we learn about his unique upbringing. Adopted by farmers and born to clean, the bald male personification of tidying-up is a regular guy with an irregular dream. Indeed a man of more muscles than words, we love Mr. Clean because he made scrubbing and mopping sexy.
The reason that all five of these advertising icons have embedded themselves so deeply into our hearts is because they aren’t just story worthy, they are rooted in a worthy story. The rock star rabbit that danced circles around it’s competitor and unintentionally stole the show or horse drawn coach gifted from a son to a father marking the end of one of the most corrupt periods in US history-they are both stories almost too good to be true, and yet they are.
The question could be asked: would noble steeds work for any beer brand or just the King? To this the answer is simply, brands don’t make great characters, remarkable characters give life to brands. As much as we all love Allstate’s Mayhem, and agree that it may have been one, if not the most successful ads of its time, a day will come when Mayhem will join The Noid in memory, not because it wasn’t clever, but because it wasn’t tied to a real story larger than life.
