Designed to build an emotional connection with the consumer and to humanise a product, ‘Brand Characters’ are often far from human . . .
Introduced in 1898, the Michelin Man, or Mr Bibendum, is one of the oldest. In 2010, some 112 years after he first appeared, ‘Advertising Week’ awarded Mr Bidendum ‘Brand Character of the Year’ !
Originally, Mr Bibendum was somewhat ugly:
But as time went on his looks improved:
Another oldie is the Shell ‘Stickman’ who first appeared in the 1930s
Esso had ‘Mr Drip’, joined a short while later by ‘Mrs Drip’
Esso, of course also had the Tiger, although as far as I know he never had a name . . .
In 1950s America you could even enjoy a ride on an Esso Tiger slot machine!
In the 60s Dunlop introduced us to the ‘Groundhog’
Eventually you could even buy Groundhog rubber toys and Groundhog Bubble Bath!
Some companies adopted existing characters to promote their wares – National Petrol with the Smurfs for example . . .
Turtlewax was so called because it produced that ‘hard shell finish’, logical then to us a Turtle as the Brand Character . . .
I’m sure there are many more . . .
Introduced in 1898, the Michelin Man, or Mr Bibendum, is one of the oldest. In 2010, some 112 years after he first appeared, ‘Advertising Week’ awarded Mr Bidendum ‘Brand Character of the Year’ !
Originally, Mr Bibendum was somewhat ugly:
But as time went on his looks improved:
Another oldie is the Shell ‘Stickman’ who first appeared in the 1930s
Esso had ‘Mr Drip’, joined a short while later by ‘Mrs Drip’
Esso, of course also had the Tiger, although as far as I know he never had a name . . .
In 1950s America you could even enjoy a ride on an Esso Tiger slot machine!
In the 60s Dunlop introduced us to the ‘Groundhog’
Eventually you could even buy Groundhog rubber toys and Groundhog Bubble Bath!
Some companies adopted existing characters to promote their wares – National Petrol with the Smurfs for example . . .
Turtlewax was so called because it produced that ‘hard shell finish’, logical then to us a Turtle as the Brand Character . . .
I’m sure there are many more . . .
