Image source – Pixy
Advertising is a major tool for successful marketing. It needs to create an everlasting impression on the audience. And using a character to build this reputation is the most effective way to do so. The character creates a unique brand value and adds a separate entity for the product.
The characters used in an advertising campaign must be attractive. They must appear to be interesting to the audience. Here are five memorable advertising characters that remind us of the product associated as soon as we see them-
· Superactive Duracell bunny
Duracell first included a pink and energetic bunny in their advertising campaign in 1973. It showed how this toy bunny powered by a Duracell battery, was able to outlast other competitors in a race. It was quick enough to catch the attention of consumers through advertising. The quality of the batteries Duracell products are equally good since they last longer. Duracell made a superb choice by selecting a fast and active animal as its advertising icon. The character became successful in representing the strength and sustainability of the batteries produced. The bunny demonstrates the power and longevity of a Duracell battery. It shows how it is better than other ordinary quality zinc-carbon batteries.
Image source- Wikimedia
· M&M’s multi-colored characters
M&M’s are button-shaped chocolates with a filling according to the flavor and lastly enclosed in a candy shell. The flavors offered are each designated with a character. Kids would easily get attracted to such an entertaining concept. The M&M’s became successful with this advertisement icon, and they were sold in over more than 100 countries since the last decade. Some various characters used in the campaign are-
- RED- His hidden talents include turning simple errands into complicated jobs. Nobody is sure of his age, but he is probably in his thirties. He has the IQ of a genius and has good physicality as well. However, his only shortcoming is that he is totally delusional about his knowledge.
- YELLOW- He is a grown-up, but he still has his inner child. He is a peanut with milk chocolate padding. His best friend is RED. He has a very gifted quality of seeing the good in everything. He keeps smiling all the time and is very fond of fluffy things.
- Ms. BROWN- She appears to be a bright and sophisticated persona. It is quite normal that nobody dares to ask her age. Her hidden talent is that she is always right. She cannot withstand the color RED.
- ORANGE- This guy is always stressed out because he thinks that everyone is after him. He has a dream, and that is to be on the endangered species list. His best attribute is probably that he is always aware of his surroundings.
Image source- Pickpik
· Ronald McDonald
Willard Scott, a local radio personality from Washington, first played the happy clown Ronald McDonald. According to the television ads, the clown lives in a fantasy world called McDonaldland. His neighbors are Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, Birdie the Early bird, the Fry kids and Grimace. This character quickly became the face of the fast-food restaurant franchise in commercials. A short film was shown in McDonald’s restaurants in 1987. It lasted for eight minutes only and was only shown for birthday parties. Ronald is also featured in video games as well as in the film ‘Mac and Me’ for a few seconds.
Ronald has become such an effective advertising character that his appearance reminds people of McDonald’s in an instance. He is also used as a character for social welfare campaigns. Many people earn by dressing as this clown to make appearances in children’s hospitals or in any social occasion.
Image source- Wikimedia
· The Burger King
The Burger King was created as the advertising mascot for the fast-food brand Burger King. It has featured in numerous commercials and has undergone changes throughout the years. It was first introduced in the late 1960s as an animated advertising character. The Burger King character was revitalized in 2000 by the advertising firm Crispin Porter+Bogusky. The character grew such popularity that in 2005, Halloween masks resembling it were manufactured. It was even used to promote the Simpsons’ movie in 2007. This time the character was blended as one of the Simpsons.
The franchise superbly channeled the character’s popularity to promote their product. In one of the advertising campaign, it reported that’ll restaurants under the franchise have stopped selling the popular Whopper sandwich. This came as a shock to the public since this product was very popular. It was a competitor for Big Mac and Wendy’s Hamburger. The customers approached the restaurant authorities to complain. And to their surprise, the Burger King character appeared with the Whopper sandwich on a plate. Such diverse and unique advertising concepts kept the character alive amongst the masses.
Image source- <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=the+burger+king+character&title=Special:Search&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&advancedSearch-current=%7b%7d&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1#/media/File:Burger_King_(1955-1968Wikimedia
· The most interesting man in the world
This character was originally played by Jonathan Goldsmith. This advertising campaign is considered as one of the most brilliant efforts in the last decade. The character appears to be a knowledgeable, experienced, stylish, and world-traveling man. This is an aspiring and dream personality challenge for all men. The character quotes, “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I drink Dos Equis”. This promotion became so popular that people even created some fun facts about him.
- His business card says, “I’ll call you”.
- The police like to question because only because he’s interesting.
- He had an awkward moment once. This was just to check how it feels.
As an actor, Jonathan Goldsmith has credits for more than five hundred movies and television appearances. But this particular advertisement projected him as a quite famous person.
All these advertising characters and techniques show how creative and effective an icon can be. And most of these are responsible for the worldwide brand name that exists in these products. No matter what happens in the future, they will always be remembered.
