Mascot: Difference between revisions
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A character, animal or animate object (see [[Everything Talks]]) which theoretically represents all that is good and attractive about a product, and which may act as a spokesman for it. Sometimes it may be an anthropomorphized version of the product itself, or of some primary component in it.
Mascots were almost mandatory in the early days of advertising on radio and television, but are [[Discredited Trope|far less common today,]] probably because of the growing sophistication of the audience coupled with the perception that they are, really, rather silly. Outside of advertising aimed at children and/or breakfast foods, a
An exception would be Japan, where everything has a cute mascot nowadays. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kawaiijapan/4014649466/ EVERYTHING].
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== Electronics and Software ==
* Apple's
** It probably didn't help matters much that in real life, John Hodgman is actually a very friendly, charismatic man.
** The Apple adverts in Britain featured David Mitchell and Robert Webb as the PC and the Mac respectively. They have been quite unpopular, and have raised questions about the duo's credibility. Not least because, like the US adverts, while Webb is the ostentatiously cool character, Mitchell generally comes across as the more down-to-earth and likeable (this is despite him often playing the role of an unapologetic quasi-intellectual). While hosting ''[[Have I Got News for You]]'', Webb explained to Ian that he had played the smug unbearable one whose product you were meant to buy, while Mitchell had all the fun lines and he was meant to be despised. He described it as a 'confused campaign'.
* Most video game companies use a character from one of their franchises as a mascot; Nintendo has [[Mario]], SEGA has [[Sonic the Hedgehog]], Capcom has ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'', SNK has Terry Bogard, etc.
** Before 1991, SNK had the now pretty much unknown [https://web.archive.org/web/20100505082503/http://pagesperso-orange.fr/neogeospirit/dossiers/gmantle/dossier_gmantle.htm G-Mantle].
** In Japan, Sega actually had a second mascot specifically for the Saturn: Segata Sanshiro, a [[Badass]] martial artist who would beat up people for not playing the Saturn. He eventually got his own video game, which was the last first-party game released for the Saturn.
*** Capcom and Sega's former mascots include '''Cap'''tain '''Com'''mando and Alex Kidd, respectively. [[Street Fighter|Ryu]] can also be considered a mascot for Capcom due to being quite recognizable and appearing in almost all of their crossover games (he also predates ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' by a few months).
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* The Companion Cube for ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]''. ''[[Portal 2]]'' uses Atlas and P-Body, the robots from the game's co-op mode.
** [[Valve]] have also used other characters as mascots, with the Heavy Weapons Guy or the Soldier representing ''[[Team Fortress 2]]''. The announcement for the Steam platform coming to the Mac used one of ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'''s [[Everything Is an iPod In The Future|iPod-esque]] turrets to resemble the Mac and the Engineer's solidly mechanical turret from ''TF2'' for the PC.
* Free Software Mascots are listed [http://www.uvlist.net/characters/list/linux-mascots here]. the best-known are OS mascots:
* Representing the web browser Firefox, Mozilla has the icon with the fox with the flaming tail curled around a globe, and [http://www.foxkeh.jp/ Mozilla Japan has Foxkeh]. The [[Ridiculously Cute Critter]] doesn't come much cuter.▼
** Linux (kernel) - Tux the yellow-beaked penguin.
* Pikachu, appearing in nearly every episode of the ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime, and [[Pokémon Red and Blue|appearing]] [[Pokémon Gold and Silver|in]] [[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire|every]] [[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl|game]] [[Pokémon Black and White|of]] [[Pokémon Black 2 and White 2|the]] Pokémon series.▼
** GNU - GNU (not as much Gnu, as Wildebeest or Ibex, but whatever), usually only the horned head is shown.
** BSD - Beastie (be-es-di, see?), a [[Big Red Devil|little red daemon]] with pitchfork.
** OpenBSD - Puffy the pufferfish.
▲** Representing the web browser Firefox, Mozilla has the icon
▲* Pikachu, appearing in nearly every episode of the ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime, and [[Pokémon Red and Blue|appearing]] [[Pokémon Gold and Silver|in]] [[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire|every]] [[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl|game]] [[Pokémon Black and White|of]] [[Pokémon Black 2 and White 2|the]] ''Pokémon'' series.
== Food and Drink ==
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** The competitive Apple and Cinnamon Stick for Apple Jacks.
** Fred and Barney from ''[[The Flintstones]]'' for Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles (Also, Snagglepuss was the Cocoa Krispies mascot at one time).
** Sugar Bear for Super Sugar Crisp (now called Super Golden Crisp). At the end of [[The Seventies]], sugar gained a reputation not unlike arsenic or Zyklon B, so the word "sugar" was [[Unfortunate Ingredients|dropped from the names]] of all major cereal brands in the United States (Sugar Frosted Flakes became Frosted Flakes, Sugar Smacks became Honey Smacks, Sugar Pops became Sugar Corn Pops and then Corn Pops, etc.). But what do you do when your mascot has "Sugar" for his first name? Why, you emphasize the "Super" in the cereal's name instead, by having him transform into ''Super Bear''
*** In the earliest years (and still is in Canada), the cereal was just called "Sugar Crisp". It got the "Super" added to its name when they added vitamin fortification.
** And who can ever forget Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Fruit Brute et al. from their namesake cereals?
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* The M&M's Spokescandies. Oddly enough, since 1999 there were only five of them (Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, and Orange) when the standard color mix includes six (with brown being the sixth color). They have finally rectified this in 2012, so the spokescandies finally match up with the color mix.
** Though this happened because each of the five was one of the M&M's types (Red is milk chocolate, Yellow is peanut, Blue is almond, Green is peanut butter, and Orange is crispy and pretzel)... meaning Brown is only there to complete the set.
* ''[[Never Say No to Panda]]'': The Panda in the Panda Cheese commercials.
== Household Products ==
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* The duck that quacks, "AFLAC!"
* Flo the checkout girl in the Progressive Insurance commercials.
* Erin Esurance, a pink-haired [[Action Girl]] in a [[Spy Catsuit]], who hawked Esurance. Now retired due to becoming a magnet for cheesecake pictures and [[Rule 34|fanporn.]] Also made a [[Product Placement|guest appearance]] on ''[[Who Wants to Be a Superhero?]]''!
* Churchill, the little nodding dog mascot of Churchill Insurance. All together now: "OH YES!!"
* The General, for The General Car Insurance.
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== Media ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180220070808/http://centralcitytower.blogspot.com/2010/07/fuzzy.html Fuzzy and Acro] of Central City Tower.
* Buster from ''[[
* [[Walt Disney|Disney]] has two: [[Mickey Mouse]] and [[Peter Pan (Disney film)|Tinker Bell]].
** [[Pixar]] has adopted the hopping lamp from [[Pixar Shorts|one of their first shorts]] as their mascot, but has relegated him solely to the logo.
** [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit|Oswald]] used to be one for Walt, [[Dork Age|but then....]]
* Bugs Bunny, for [[Looney Tunes]], as well as Warner Bros.' entire animation division.
* Nickelodeon has [[SpongeBob SquarePants]], formerly [[
* The former WB Network had Michigan J. Frog from the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' short, "[[One Froggy Evening]]".
* In the early days of the official [[Cirque Du Soleil]] website (
* [[The Muppets|Kermit]] was the mascot of The Jim Henson Company back when they owned the Muppet franchise.
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** An obscure example: [[Skelteria]] has St. Trinity, a [[Does Not Like Shoes|barefoot]] [[Evil Is Cool|demon]] [[Evil Is Sexy|woman]] with [[Good Wings, Evil Wings|bat-like wings]].
** [[Demon Hunter (band)|Demon Hunter]] has...well, what the fuck is it even called? You'd recognize it if you saw it.
** Riot has Johnny, a rather infamous mascot that seems to have human form with a weasel/rat/owl/seal-head. [https://web.archive.org/web/20131129181240/http://www.metal-metropolis.com/riot.htm More information can be found here]
** Knucklehead of [[Five Finger Death Punch]], who has appeared on every one of their album covers. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQUk1Bt0pz4 He once punched a man in the soul].
** In Flames' Jesterhead, who first appeared on the cover of ''The Jester Race'' and has undergone many transformations since. He's most known for his distinctive spiky jester-hat.
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** [[The Mighty Mighty Bosstones]] have Otis the Bulldog.
** [[Looks Like Cesare|Monkey's Face]] from The Adicts.
** [[Blink
* Hatchet Man for the [[Psychopathic Records]] label.
* Booji Boy for [[Devo]].
* [[Radiohead]] has that Bear.
* [[Kanye West]] has Dropout Bear.
* Raubtier's [[Sigil Spam|pervasive]] logo is a snarling canine head with [[Gatling Good|gatling guns]] sticking out of both eye sockets, though so far the beast's name and/or connections to any of the dogs mentioned in their songs are unknown.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Advertising Tropes]]
[[Category:Mascot]]
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