2016: Mr. Peanut celebrates his 100th birthday
To celebrate the Ad Club of New York's 120th anniversary, The Drum is inviting readers to share their favorite marketing moments from the past 120 years.
Mr. Peanut
Today we feature Planters' Mr. Peanut as our marketing moment, one of the world's most iconic brand mascots who also happens to be celebrating his 100th birthday this year.
According to Planters, “Mr. Peanut was born when schoolboy Antonio Gentile submitted his sketch to win the Planters contest for a brand icon. A commercial artist later added a top hat, a monocle and a cane.”
In 1937, the first Mr. Peanut billboard appeared in Times Square, and in the 1950s the first TV ads featuring the brand mascot began to air nationwide. In 1997, he made his first appearance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
While there have been many iterations of Mr. Peanut over the past 100 years, the mascot has continued to be an integral part of the peanut brand’s marketing efforts.
See the full 120 Marketing Moments in the dedicated online section and find out how to purchase the exclusive book.