From Captain Morgan to Count Chocula, US consumers’ 10 favorite brand mascots

Make sure to check back tomorrow to find out which one of these famous mascots was named No 1 according to The Drum’s readers. And on Wednesday we will profile the mascot that will be honored by Advertising Week’s Madison Avenue Walk of Fame.

10. Tie: Duolingo’s Duo and Cinnamon Toast Crunch’s Cinnamojis

It’s no surprise that Duo has secured a top spot in consumers’ hearts – the famously passive-aggressive green bird has become a viral sensation across social media. On platforms such as TikTok, he regularly participates in trends and chirps in on popular posts with gen Z-approved lingo.

Introduced in 2009 by General Mills, Cinnamojis – formerly known as Crazy Squares – often star as high-energy protagonists in ads for the sweet cereal. Earlier this year, the cereal brand tapped into consumers’ love of the mascots with limited-edition celebrity-themed Cinnamoji Toast Crunch boxes.

9. Tie: Captain Morgan and Sour Patch Kids

Originally inspired by the real-life 17th century Sir Henry Morgan – a Welsh-born swashbuckler who galavanted around the Caribbean on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen – Captain Morgan has become the beloved representative of rum (as well as the remorse of many a college student.) As a mascot, the Captain was created by Hugo Award-winning American sci-fi artist Don Maitz, who has explained on Reddit that Seagram’s wanted a mascot that would distinguish the rum label, as “many liquor products are introduced to the marketplace and the majority do not take.”

The Captain tied with Sour Patch Kids. The smiling characters date back to the 1970s, when confectioner Frank Galatolie created what were then known as the Mars Men. Fast forward a few decades, and the popular candy brand introduced a cast of different-colored Sour Patch Kids. Now owned by Mondelez, the brand, like Duolingo, has amassed TikTok fans thanks to its playful mascots.

8. Jack in the Box’s Jack Box

Yes, his full name is Jack Box. Weird, we know. An adaptation of the fast food chain’s original clown head mascot, the geometrical character has become a classic American mascot. The franchise has employed Jack in its advertising since 1994 – part of a larger rebranding effort after a 1993 food contamination scandal. A guerilla ad campaign was spearheaded by TBWA\Chiat\Day.

7. Fruit Stripe Gum’s Yipes the Zebra

Yipes, the nostalgia-inducing face of Fruit Stripe Gum, has been around since the late 1960s. When the brand originally came to market, an entire cast of animals – including a mouse, an elephant and a tiger – was used to promote the brand. Yipes, however, came out on top, thanks in large part to his aesthetic connection to the brand’s colorful striped product.

6. Monster Cereals’ Count Chocula, Boo Berry and Franken Berry

Just in time for Halloween, US consumers voted these spooky-fun characters among their favorite brand mascots. The three characters, each of whom represents a different flavor of kid-friendly cereal, have been in commission since the early 1970s. Over the years, the characters have seen many product and commercial crossovers – in 2010, Betty Crocker debuted Franken Berry and Boo Berry Fruit Roll-Ups; meanwhile, a less well-known Monster Cereals mascot, Fruit Brute, made appearances in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs.

5. Lucky Charms’ Lucky the Leprechaun

Originally more slender and elven in appearance, Lucky the Leprechaun made his commercial debut in 1964 in a campaign that, at the time, was one of the most expensive advertising efforts to date. It included animated TV spots, full-color print ads in the Sunday paper and original comic books. Nowadays, Lucky the Leprechaun is still capturing audiences’ attention in novel ways – last year, the character dropped a debut album called Magically Delicious that was made available exclusively on Spotify.

4. Tie: Wendy and Toys “R” Us’s Geoffrey the Giraffe

Throughout many regions in the US, Wendy’s smiling redheaded mascot is among the most common sights to encounter while driving. The character was inspired in name and appearance by Melinda Lou “Wendy” Morse, the daughter of the fast food chain’s founder Dave Thomas. Though she’s remained true to her look throughout the years, Wendy earlier this year got a viral makeover. Versions of the character sporting punk-inspired hairstyles appeared in June in out-of-home (OOH) ads in London.

Though toy retailer Toys “R” Us has been through quite the saga in recent years – being liquidated and reinstated twice over – its cheery mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe retains a place in consumers’ hearts. The initial version of the character, developed in the 1960s, was known as Dr G Raffe. He starred in print ads throughout the 1960s and made his TV debut in 1973. In the early 2000s, he was given a realist treatment; the company even created a life-like animatronic version of Geoffrey. He briefly ‘retired’ amid the corporation’s tumultuous legal battles in 2018, but has since been resurrected.

3. Tootsie Roll’s Mr Owl

The second owl on our list was developed by creative agency Doner and debuted in 1968 to launch the Tootsie Pop, a new kind of lollipop with a Tootsie Roll center. The wise Mr Owl’s famous query was answered in a 2015 study that determined that no less than 997 licks are required to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

2. Green Giant’s Jolly Green Giant

A canned aisle classic, the Jolly Green Giant was long the poster boy for nutritious eating. Although US consumers now eat more fresh produce and fewer canned offerings than they did when the mascot was introduced by the Minnesota Valley Canning Company of Le Sueur, Minnesota in 1928, the character is still a favorite of many. After various iterations of the design – spearheaded by creatives at Leo Burnett during the 1920s and 30s – the company saw so much success through the character that it renamed the company Green Giant in 1950.

1. Rice Krispies’ Snap, Crackle and Pop

According to our poll, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies’ three gnome-inspired characters – whose names are onomatopoeic spins on the sound of Rice Krispies cereal crackling in milk – are far and away US consumers’ favorite brand mascots. Created by illustrator Vernon Grant in the 1930s, the characters have evolved significantly through the decades and have seen many uses and iterations – they were even employed in conservation-focused public messaging during World War II. Today, they often appear in Rice Krispies ads created by Leo Burnett.

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