Why We Will Always Need Brand Mascots

Brand mascots have been a staple for so many of our lives, particularly our childhoods.

We were brought up seeing them on the side of the box, on our TV screens, and never far from some of our favourite products.

In fact, brand mascots have been around for a very long time.

Whilst it’s not specifically known, many people believe that Elise the Cow was one of the first mascots ever invented, coming to life in 1936.

Advertising the Borden Dairy brand, Elise was most popular during the 1940s and was even claimed to be the most famous cow in the world.

Of course, not all mascots are able to achieve such notoriety.

But even when mascots are only known on a smaller scale, they can still be very effective.

Whether it’s helping to make a company more memorable, or helping to make a business seem more personable, there are lots of reasons why we’ll always need brand mascots.

And, it makes sense!

If we were to ask you to name some of the most popular UK brand mascots, you’re probably going to name someone like Vinnie the Panda or Churchill the Dog, right?

They’re staples of the UK mascot scene, and have been around for years.

So, what are the reasons why businesses use brand mascots?

And, what are some of the best brand mascots we’ve seen?

If you’re interested in finding out the answer to these questions, keep reading! We’ll break down the reasons behind mascots and some of our favourites.

If you’re thinking ‘why do businesses use mascots’, then the first reason is likely going to be because brand mascots help sell an experience.

Sure, they’re selling a product and a business.

Ultimately, they want consumers to buy their product and drive up their sales. But they’re not going to outright say this, are they?

Instead, brands use mascots to try and sell an emotional connection with their consumers.

As Medium puts it, the successful use of a brand mascot will create “an emotional bond that bridges the gap between you and the target audience.”

Meaning, that it’s a pretty clever tactic for marketers to use. If you want to find out more about emotional connections and marketing, check out our article here.

The emotional response people have to mascots is further proved when you look at mascots changing.

Sometimes a company seeks to put a new, sexy, cool spin on their beloved mascot.

Whether this is to appeal to a different generation or simply keep up with the times, a mascot will sometimes change their look – much to the audience’s disappointment.

In the instance of Chuck E. Cheese, he was given a new look not too long ago.

But, it wasn’t received very well. 57% of people said that they preferred the old mascot.

And why? Because they felt emotionally attached to it.

Mascots seek to create emotional bonds with their audiences and sell a sentimental experience.

It’s about more than just buying their products, it’s about buying into the feelings they’re selling.

What’s Duracell without the bright pink bunny?

Or, Churchill Insurance without the beloved English Bulldog?

Even Cushelle Toilet Paper without the cuddly koala bear?

It’s hard to picture any of these brands without also conjuring an image of their famous mascots, they’re practically interchangeable.

Much like how Mickey Mouse’s ears instantly show Disney, or how no one really pulls off the colour Green like the Green Giant, brand mascots are great for establishing brand awareness.

In fact, Mickey Mouse is one of the most successful brand mascots in the world.

According to Time Magazine, the Disney company claims that Mickey Mouse was able to be recognised by 98% of children aged 3-11 across the world.

That’s a higher rate of recognisability than Father Christmas!

It’s this level of success and recognisability which helps the Disney company with their sales, merchandising, and all-round business.

It makes sense, then, why so many businesses are adopting brand mascots to help with their marketing ploys.

There’s no debate about social media being one of the most creative platforms you can use for marketing.­

It has the greatest room for creative expression and interpretation and is the birthplace of many excellent marketing campaigns in the last 10 years.

So, naturally, a lot of brands will use their mascots on social media specifically.

In fact, you may be surprised to learn that brand mascots have been found to outperform celebrities and influencers on social media.

But why is this?

Many people believe that it is because you can achieve a softer sell when using brand mascots.

When a celebrity or influencer tries to promote a product or service, this can sometimes come across as blatant self-promotion.

Or worse, disingenuous.

We all know that celebrities and influencers will likely be paid a hefty sum for their promotions – so how can we really trust what they’re advertising?

Mascots, on the other hand, aren’t being paid for their time. And, given that people have such emotional bonds with these mascots, they’re more likely to be receptive to their social media marketing ploys.

In fact, many brand mascots have their own social media accounts!

Ronald McDonald – the mascot for everyone’s favourite food chain – has a verified Instagram account which over 58 thousand followers.

Even more impressively, the Cheetos Instagram account – being run by ‘Chester Cheetah’ – is verified and has a whopping 412 thousand followers.

It’s clear to see then that social media is a place for brand mascots to thrive!

Brand mascots are great because they usually survive the test of time.

For the majority, they don’t depend on the current social or political climate – and therefore very rarely need to be updated or changed.

As markers of the company, it’s more beneficial for recognisability purposes for them to remain pretty consistent.

However, sometimes, a brand mascot change is desperately needed.

Most recently in both America and the UK, companies with racist or problematic mascots have been facing calls from fans and the public to change their mascots.

Famously, one brand that has been dealing with this backlash for a very long time is the Washington RedSkins.

Their mascot – Chief Zee (a man dressed in faux Native American dress) – has been the centre of controversy for a very long time.

30 years, in fact.

Eventually, in 2020, the team admitted that it was time to change their mascot and rename their team.

Calls from the Native American and larger American football community had shown them that their mascot was outdated and offensive. And therefore had to go.

But it’s not just American football teams that have been under fire.

In the same year, Quaker Oats announced that they would be changing the name and mascot of their Aunt Jemima brand.

Having existed for 131 years, the name and mascot of their brand were rooted in racial stereotyping and minstrelsy.

Modern criticism had proved that there was no room for outdated and stereotypical mascots in this day and age.

And, therefore, the advice we give to you if you’re thinking of choosing a brand mascot – steer clear of anything controversial or wrong.

Whilst changing a brand mascot is usually done for very valid reasons, sometimes this isn’t always the case.

It’s not unusual for a marketing team to feel like a brand mascot is in need of changing or updating just to make it more relevant.

But, as we said earlier, people feel very strongly about their brand mascots.

As a result, there can be a great deal of backlash when their favourite childhood characters get an unwanted and unimpressive makeover.

Let’s look back to everyone’s favourite mouse – Mickey.

The Mickey Mouse mascot has undergone a lot of evolution and change over the years.

From making his eyes more human to adding his famous white gloves, he’s been around for a while so he’s bound to face a few tweaks every couple of years.

And, for the most part, people are receptive to this!

But this cannot be said for the 2017 new Mickey Mouse change that saw his animation style take on a new look.

In an article written by Medium, they found that the new Mickey Mouse was extremely unpopular with fans given that “Disney fans are hesitant to changes because so much of our passion is rooted in nostalgia.”

Mickey’s new look, therefore, was branded “creepy” but unhappy fans.

The motivation behind the new look was because Disney was unveiling a new ride at their theme parks and therefore wanted to give Mickey a fresh new style to match.

However, ultimately, this backfired amongst fans.

The lesson from this story? If it’s not broke, don’t fix it!

There are too many UK brand mascots to choose from when it comes to examples of excellent brand mascot marketing.

Whether it’s a mascot that’s been about since the 70s or someone a little more fresh on the scene – brand mascots have been dominating the marketing industry for a very long time.

Coco The Monkey has been the brand mascot for Coco Pops for decades.

His cheeky grin has been donning boxes of their beloved cereal and helping the brand become even more successful with every one sold.

But how successful is he actually?

According to the Independent, Coco made Coco Pops’ sales grow by 90% during 1986 and 1992. In that same period, their brand profitability grew fivefold.

That’s a very successful Monkey indeed!

Another animal mascot that has undoubtedly aided their brand is Aleksandr, the meerkat from Compare The Market.

His appeal, much like many other animal mascots, lies in the fact that “most people, regardless of age, find animals cute and endearing.”

And this couldn’t be more true for Aleksandr.

In fact, you could actually buy toys of the famous meerkat and his extended family who were featured in their TV ads.

And, in 2010, the meerkat even published his very own autobiography – A Simples Life.

You could argue that, other than Mickey Mouse, no other mascot has gone to such lengths.

However, successful brand mascots aren’t always animals.

One of the most profitable mascots ever seen was Colonel Sanders from KFC.

It was the public’s investment in his story – how he struggled and worked hard throughout his life to finally make KFC in his 60s – and their love for what he represents which made him such a high profile mascot.

In fact, the real Colonel Sanders who invented the recipe not only has his face plastered across all boxes and packaging, but also appeared in TV adverts even after when he sold the company.

You quite literally couldn’t market the brand without him!

Whilst some marketers think that brand mascots are outdated and old-fashioned, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Brand mascots are a very effective and affordable way to promote your business and build up recognisability.

From Mickey Mouse, to the Green Giant, the Energiser Bunny, and even Ronald McDonald, there are plenty of brand personalities who are dominating the industry.

And, if you’ve chosen your mascot carefully and are doing it right, you should be able to see a hefty return on your investment soon!

If you need help with building your brand image, let us know!

Shape The Market offers plenty of services to help your business grow online. Get in touch with us here.