This is a list of notable mascots and characters created specifically for advertising purposes, listed alphabetically by the product they represent.
The list
edit| Company | Character(s) | Years used | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birds Eye | Captain Birdseye | 1967–present | |
| British American Tobacco | Bruno (HB-Männchen)[1] | 1958-1972[2] | Used in Germany to advertise for the cigarette brand HB. The choleric little man that literally blew up in the air when in anger and was cooled down when smoking a HB cigarette, is considered one of the most popular mascots in German advertising history.[1] |
| Cadbury | Cadbury Caramel Bunny | 1980s | |
| Carrefour Poland | Kerfuś | 2022–present | |
| Churchill | Churchill | 1996–present | Voiced by Bob Mortimer and partners Vic Reeves in adverts. |
| Cillit Bang | Barry Scott | 2007–2016 | Has been replaced by a mechanic dancing to a remix of "she's a maniac" from Flashdance. |
| comparethemarket.com | Aleksandr Orlov | January 2009–present | Voiced by Simon Greenall |
| Confused.com | Cara Confused | 2010–2013 | |
| Brian the Robot | 2013–2016 | ||
| Deutsche Telekom | Robert T-Online | 1999-2003[3] | Portrayed by Matthias Kostya, similar in appearance to the character Max Headroom |
| Direct Line | the Direct Line phone with wheels | 1985–present | in 2009 the Direct Line phone with wheels was given a voice by Stephen Fry and got an accomplice in the form of the Direct Line mouse with wheels, voiced by Paul Merton |
| Dr. Oetker | Frau Renate | 1954-1960s[4] | Portrayed by Hannelore Cremer |
| Ergo Lebensversicherung | Herr Kaiser | 1972–2009[5] | Portrayed by Günter Geiermann (1972–1990), Franz Michael Schwarzmann (1990–1996) and Nick Wilder (1996–2009); Used as the queen's disguise in the comedy film 7 Dwarves – Men Alone in the Wood (2004); Has a cameo in a 2017 Check24 commercial[6] |
| Ferrero | Mr. Bon[7] | 2011–present[8] | Used in Germany to advertise for the product Kinder Schoko-Bons |
| Nocci[9] | 2023–present | Name derived from the Italian word for hazelnut, "nocciola" | |
| Ole[10] | 2020–present[11] | Used in Germany to advertise for the product Kinder Pingui | |
| Gocompare.com | Gio Compario | 2009–present | |
| Haribo | Goldbear | 1960–present | |
| Iglo | Käpt'n Iglo | 1985–present | German mascot of the brand |
| Little Chef | 'Fat Charlie' | 1958–present | |
| Lombard Direct | the Lombard Direct phone | 1995–present | |
| Michelin | Bibendum (the Michelin Man) | 1898–present | |
| Milka | Milka cow | 1971–present[12] | |
| Milkybar | Milky Bar kid | 1961–1998, 2000–present | the Milky Bar Kid is now computer generated and not an actual child |
| Nederlandse Zuivel Organisatie | Frau Antje | 1961–present | Portrayed by Kitty Janssen (1961-1963), Emilie Bouwman (1963-1973, 1984-late 1980s), Ellen Soeters (1973-1984), Saskia Valencia (late 1980s-1998, 2000–2012) Madeleen Driessen (1999-2014), Jeannette van Enst and Floor Schothorst (2014–present) |
| Nescafé Gold Blend | The Gold Blend couple | 1987–1996[13] | an episodic romance revolving around coffee, which spawned a 1993 novelization. Also used in Taster's Choice ad campaigns in the United States.[14] |
| Orange Polska | Serce and Rozum | 2010–present | The characters were originally developed for Telekomunikacja Polska, which in 2012, become Orange Polska. Characters had appeared for the last time in television commercial in 2017, however they are still used by the company on its social media.[15] |
| Oxo | the Oxo family | 1983–1999 | |
| 118 118 | the 118 118 men | 2003–present | the 118 118 men became the 118 118 team in 2006 and was themed as an A team parody |
| Sheilas' Wheels | The Sheilas | 2007–present | Played by Emma Robbins, Carly Romain and Cathi Ogden. The trio would later become a pop group after the commercials took off and continued to perform in this capacity during their live appearances |
| Tayto | Mr. Tayto | 1954–Present | Irish crisp company |
| Tesco Stores Ltd | Tommy Tesco and Flynn the Frog | 2011–Present | Tommy is voiced by Stephen Mulhern |
| Tetley | the Tetley Tea Folk | 1973–2001, 2010–present | |
| Walkers | Dez, "The Number One Spice Girls Fan!" | 2019 | Forsakes himself (and embarrasses the entire United Kingdom on social media) for refusing to share his Walkers Crisp with the Spice Girls after winning a chance to tour with the act; his Mum shames him by leaving with the girls |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Das HB-Männchen – Werbefigur des Wirtschaftswunders | Zeithistorische Forschungen". zeithistorische-forschungen.de. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ FILM, TACKER (2021-01-02), Die Geschiche des HB Männchens, retrieved 2023-07-02
- ^ "Die Geschichte der Deutschen Telekom: Deutsche Telekom". www.computerwoche.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ "Hannelore Cremer war Frau Renate - memoryRadio". www.memoryradio.de. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ "Hamburg Mannheimer: Herr Kaiser verliert nach 35 Jahren seinen Job – WELT". DIE WELT (in German). 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ "Hallo, Herr Kaiser: Wie Check24 der legendären Werbeikone ein selbstironisches Comeback verschafft – HORIZONT". www.horizont.net (in German). Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ "kinder Schoko-Bons - Mr. Bon - kinder Deutschland". www.kinder.com (in German). Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Kinder Schokobons Werbung, retrieved 2023-07-02
- ^ KG, FERRERO MSC GmbH & Co. "Name gesucht! | www.das-ist-ferrero.de". www.das-ist-ferrero.de. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ KG, FERRERO MSC GmbH & Co. "Pinguin Ole von kinder Pinguí über Glücks-Momente, Herausforderungen und mehr | www.das-ist-ferrero.de". www.das-ist-ferrero.de. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ "kinder Pinguí. So geht Auszeit! | Wer freut sich denn hier so? Kleiner Tipp: Er heißt Ole und ist der Star des neuen TV-Spots von kinder Pinguí. | By Kinder | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Redaktion (2012-07-22). "Wie die lila Milka-Kuh Adelheid zur Werbe-Ikone wurde". DerWesten.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Elliott, Richard; Percy, Larry (2007). "Love Over Gold - The untold story of TV's greatest romance". Strategic Brand Management. Oxford University Press. pp. 55–6. ISBN 978-0-19-926000-3.
- ^ James, Susannah (1993). Love over Gold. London: Corgi. ISBN 0-552-14104-6.
- ^ "Serce i Rozum znikają z reklam Orange, w nowej kampanii dziecięce "All you need is love" (wideo)". wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish).