The mascot renaissance is coming to advertising
Are mascots on the flip side of the ‘wheel of cool’? Dave Jansen, CCO and founding partner at Connecting Plots, discusses the pending mascot renaissance, which will only accelerate with artificial intelligence.
When I think of mascots, a few images immediately pop into my head. A clown. A peanut with a monocle. A southern colonel with a questionable accent. And of course those poor sods suffocating inside oversized foam suits, sweating buckets at sporting events while pretending to enjoy their miserable fate.
Mascots were once the bread and butter of advertising. Living, breathing (sometimes horrifying) symbols that lodged themselves deep into our collective consciousness. They weren’t just marketing tools; they were cultural icons. A shortcut to brand recognition that worked across TV, print, packaging, hell, even skywriting if you really wanted.
So, what happened?
