Every brand out there has a brand voice. Whether engaging or enchanting, the ideal brand voice should resonate well with your audience. As more and more brands are adopting audio as part of their branding strategy, brand voice has become much more literal. One of the early examples of this is evident in iconic brand mascots, many of which have been around for decades. There’s no doubt that the characters that brands built — and the voices they chose to give them — were strategic choices meant to connect with their target audience and serve as an extension of the brand persona.
There are many companies, big and small, that really understand this and are incredibly successful at creating brand awareness through their recognizable, iconic mascots and animated characters. An important piece of this puzzle is casting the right voices that bring the brand mascots to life.
In this article
- Why Are Brand Mascots Beneficial?
- The Nesquik Bunny (Nestlé)
- Snap, Crackle and Pop (Kellogg’s Rice Krispies)
- Tony the Tiger (Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes)
- Mr. Peanut (Planters Peanuts)
- Pillsbury Doughboy/Poppin’ Fresh (Pillsbury)
- AFLAC Duck (AFLAC Insurance)
- Martin the GEICO Gecko (GEICO)
- Kool-Aid Man (Kool-Aid)
- M&M’s (Mars)
- Mickey Mouse (The Walt Disney Company)
- Honorable Mentions
When a careful pairing of voice, brand identity, mascot design and brand character design comes together in perfect synergy, it creates a lasting legacy in the hearts and minds of consumers, building brand trust and loyalty.
Why Are Brand Mascots Beneficial?
Brand mascots — and spokespeople or “spokescreatures” — are branding elements that can be used to help others better remember your company and the products you are trying to sell. Often inspired by animals or objects, brand mascots allow you to target your audience better. They also extend the longevity of your brand. Unlike spokespeople that age or could potentially do things to damage your brand, mascots are ageless brand promoters that help develop your brand and appeal to the consumer.
Here is a round-up of the top 10 recognizable brand mascots that have successfully appealed to their target audiences.
The Nesquik Bunny (Nestlé)
Throughout the 1970s and into the late 1990s, homemade chocolate milk was synonymous with the name Nestlé, thanks to their famous animal mascot, the Nesquik Bunny. The playful animal brand mascot made his television ad campaign debut in 1973 and the recognizable figure has since taken on a life of his own with swag that includes everything from bobble-head dolls to lunch boxes and T-shirts. During the most popular stint, the cartoon character was voiced by former Screen Actors Guild president Barry Gordon and quickly became a prime example of developing a successful brand voice.
Qualities of the voice that make it appealing: The Nesquik bunny’s voice can be described as having a quirky sound. Why does this appeal to audiences? A quirky voice is safe and trustworthy while also sounding curious. It’s this curiosity that draws customers in while listening and may be more enticed to purchase the product.
Snap, Crackle and Pop (Kellogg’s Rice Krispies)
In 1928, the now-defunct advertising agency N.W. Ayer capitalized on the cereal’s most distinctive feature: the noise it made when doused with milk. The words “Snap! Crackle! Pop!” were selected to describe the cereal and have remained that way since. Originally just words on cereal boxes, a small gnome-like cartoon character with a baker’s hat and a spoon named Snap! accompanied the slogan in 1933. In a few short years, a trio was formed with Crackle! and Pop!, joining Snap! on the mascot team.
They first appeared as cartoon characters in television commercials in the 1960s. The voices of the original gnomes were performed by Daws Butler, Paul Winchell and Don Messick. The characters have also been voiced by Chris Evans, Keith Chegwin, Chad Doreck, Eddie Deezen, Thom Adcox-Hernandez and Dino Andrade. Since 2009, the three gnomes have been voiced by Andy Hirsch (Snap!), Danny Cooksey (Crackle!) and Mark Ballou (Pop!).
Qualities of the voice that make it appealing: These characters are wholesome which aligns with the image of the favorite breakfast cereal. Their voices sound like the “boy-next-door” and are perceived to be trustworthy.
Tony the Tiger (Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes)
Making a second appearance on the list with Tony the Tiger, the advertising folks at Kellogg’s are brilliant at creating iconic cartoon characters used for their products. Thurl Ravenscroft — the voice actor best known for Tony the Tiger’s “They’re grrreat!” slogan — provided the voice over for the memorable animal character in Frosted Flakes television commercials for more than five decades. Ravenscroft passed away in 2005 at 90 years of age.
Qualities of the voice that make it appealing: Ravenscroft’s deep baritone brought a comforting, almost father-like quality to the brand cartoon representative. The deep and authoritative vocal archetype of Tony the Tiger has been studied and discovered to naturally convey a sense of trustworthiness.
Mr. Peanut (Planters Peanuts)
Donning a top hat, cane and monocle, Mr. Peanut made his first appearance in Planters ads all the way back to 1918. It wasn’t until November 2010 when Planters would officially give Mr. Peanut a voice when award-winning screen and stage actor Robert Downey Jr. was given the first honor. In 2011, Planters launched their brand of peanut butter and Peanut Butter Doug was introduced as Mr. Peanut’s “stunt double.” Peanut Butter Doug is voiced by actor Kevin Dillon.
In 2013, Planters announced that Mr. Peanut would be given a new voice. Now, comedian and Saturday Night Live alumnus Bill Hader provides the voice for the peanut icon.
Qualities of the voice that make it appealing: Both voices selected for Mr. Peanut (Downey and Hader) have a sophisticated touch to their vocals — which is all part of the brand voice — making Planters branded peanuts seem upper class and desirable.
Pillsbury Doughboy/Poppin’ Fresh (Pillsbury)
The first Doughboy popped out of Pillsbury’s refrigerated rolls in the 1960s, which is how he acquired the name Poppin’ Fresh. Poppin’ Fresh has appeared in more than 600 commercials for more than 50 of Pillsbury’s products. He was voiced by actor Paul Frees, famous as the voice of Boris Badenov in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. After Paul Frees’ death in 1986, Jeff Bergman took over. Today, the perfectly pitched giggles are done by actor and creative producer, JoBe Cerny.
Qualities of the voice that make it appealing: The Pillsbury Doughboy has a high-pitched voice. He is meant to appeal to younger audiences, as noted by the child actors that usually appear on screen with him in ads for the Poppin’ Fresh product line. His voice is friendly, cheerful and cartoony.
AFLAC Duck (AFLAC Insurance)
In a move to garner greater public brand recognition in the insurance industry, AFLAC tasked New York-based advertising firm Kaplan Thaler Group with the job of making AFLAC a household name. As the story goes, prior to the assignment the firm had never heard of AFLAC. They were continually asking, “What’s the name of the client again?” Upon hearing “AFLAC! AFLAC! AFLAC!” one of the creatives said, “You sound just like a duck.” And the rest is history.
The duck was originally voiced by the late comedian Gilbert Gottfried, giving it a memorable, slightly annoying yet funny and somehow lovable personality. After serving 11 years as the duck, Gottfried made a tasteless joke on X (formerly Twitter) that referenced the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster, prompting his dismissal on March 14, 2011. Acting quickly — and in a brilliant PR move — AFLAC announced later that month that they were holding an open casting call for the new voice of the AFLAC Duck and invited anyone to submit their best take to QuackAflac.com.
On April 26, 2011, 36-year-old Daniel McKeague, a television advertising sales manager from Hugo, Minnesota, was announced as the new voice of the duck. The first AFLAC commercial featuring McKeague aired on May 1, 2011 and he continues to provide the voice over to this day.
Qualities of the voice that make it appealing: Comical, silly and a little bit quirky, this voice finds a way to infuse something that’s considered dry with humor.
Martin the GEICO Gecko (GEICO)
Where would GEICO be without their gecko? Having produced a large number of amusing commercials, Martin, the gold dust day gecko, made GEICO a hit in popular culture. Using the lizard was an easy solution for the company since their name was often mispronounced as Gecko.
Playing on that, the original commercial featured Frasier star Kelsey Grammer as the voice of the gecko. In it, Martin climbs onto a podium and utters, “This is my final plea: I am a gecko, not to be confused with GEICO, which could save you hundreds on car insurance. So, STOP CALLING ME!” The wrong number ads later used Dave Kelly as the relaxed, British-Australian voice of the gecko. In subsequent commercials, the Cockney (British) accent is voiced by English comedian and actor, Jake Wood.
Qualities of the voice that make it appealing: The gecko is usually voiced with a hint of an accent, often British or Australian. Since GEICO is an American company, using a different accent gives them a bit of foreign intrigue. Some British accents are seen as more polished and thus more authoritative.
Kool-Aid Man (Kool-Aid)
Although the Kool-Aid brand dates all the way back to 1927, the brand’s iconic smiling pitcher didn’t make its appearance on packages until 1954. The walking, talking, wall-crashing 6-foot-tall pitcher made its first television debut in 1975 and was reportedly voiced by Grey Advertising composer, Richard Berg. In 1979, the character’s mouth was animated to synchronize to the voice actor’s dialogue.
By the 1980s, Kool-Aid Man attained pop culture icon status when two video games for the Atari 2600 and the Intellivision systems were released. Marvel Comics gave him a short-lived comic book series, The Adventures of Kool-Aid Man, which only ran three issues in 1984 and 1985 but continued to make issues four through seven under Archie Comics from 1988-89.
In 1994, Kool-Aid retired the live-action character, making him entirely computer-generated from that point on. In the late 2000s, singer and voice over artist Frank Simms began voicing the iconic character by uttering the famous “Oh Yeah!” line as he pours a drink for the parched children.
The animated version was much more successful, even though some thought that he was a bit creepy (he made it on TIME magazine’s list of top 10 creepy product mascots). However, with the animated version, the cartoon character’s design is softer despite his gravelly voice.
Qualities of the voice that make it appealing: The Kool-Aid man sounds much like a cartoon protagonist — confident, happy and animated, as well as physically strong (maybe a little too strong!). This is a great fit if you consider his strategic commercial placement alongside Saturday morning cartoons for kids, who are no doubt the target audience for this character.
M&M’s (Mars)
Mars introduced their first M&M’s spokescandy, Red, in 1954, 13 years after the brand made its original debut. It wasn’t long before he was joined by Yellow, the peanut-filled mascot, when the company launched peanut M&M’s later that year. Over the last 50 years or so, M&M’s has rolled out six more spokescandies to represent new flavors, colors and themes, giving each one their own distinct personality.
The cynical Red was originally voiced by Jon Lovitz and is now voiced by Billy West. Yellow, his gullible comedic partner, was originally voiced by John Goodman and is now voiced by J.K. Simmons.
Other brand mascots that have been introduced over the years are Blue, the “cool one” and the mascot for almond M&M’s, originally voiced by Phil Hartman and now voiced by Robb Pruitt. The sultry Green M&M, the mascot for dark chocolate M&M’s, is voiced by Cree Summer. The neurotic Orange M&M, Crispy, is the mascot for pretzel M&M’s and voiced by Eric Kirchberger.
Green was the only female M&M’s mascot until January 30, 2012, when M&M’s unveiled a new businesslike spokescandy, Ms Brown, the “Chief Chocolate Officer” voiced by Vanessa Williams,. In a hit Super Bowl XLVI advertisement, Red mistakes her for lacking a candy shell because of her brown color.
Qualities of the voice that make it appealing: The Red and Yellow M&Ms are the most iconic of all the different colors. They are appealing because they form a dynamic duo. Yellow speaks in a way that makes him sound eternally confused and oblivious whereas Red is the know-it-all, constantly correcting Yellow. Their dynamic is reminiscent of classic best friends, as depicted in popular shows and movies. This is a great fit for the brand given that M&Ms are often shared amongst friends at get-togethers or enjoyed as a popular snack food during movies and extended tv-watching. There’s a relatability and sense of humor in their dynamic, creating the perfect combination of intrigue for the audience.
Mickey Mouse (The Walt Disney Company)
Who else could hold the top spot on this list but the world’s most beloved mouse? The official brand mascot for the Walt Disney Company, Mickey Mouse made his debut as a cartoon character in the 1928 short film, Steamboat Willie, one of the first cartoons ever made with sound.
As a true marketing maverick, Walt Disney’s iconic mascot became entrenched in everything that the Walt Disney Company represented, appearing in countless cartoons, newspaper strips, variety shows, movies, merchandise, the Mickey Mouse fan club and, of course, the Walt Disney World theme park. Recognized across the globe, Mickey is one of the most famous brand mascot designs ever.
Honorable Mentions
Other memorable and recognizable mascots that are quickly associated with the products they represent include the Jolly Green Giant, the Michelin Man, Chester Cheetah and Mr. Clean. The Jolly Green Giant, with his towering stature and friendly demeanor, has been promoting Green Giant food products for decades, embodying freshness and quality. The Michelin Man, a personified tire made of white rubber and the Michelin Tires brand mascot, symbolizes durability and safety in the automotive industry. (Fun fact: the Michelin Man is actually regarded as one of the world’s first true brand mascots!) Chester Cheetah, the cool and mischievous mascot for Cheetos, adds a playful and edgy dimension to snack advertising. Meanwhile, Mr. Clean, the famous mascot for the Procter & Gamble cleaning products, conveys strength and effectiveness in household cleanliness. These famous mascots not only serve as brand ambassadors but also create a strong emotional connection with consumers, making them instantly recognizable symbols of their respective products and brands.
Do you have a favorite brand mascot or a brand mascot of your own? Let us know in the comments below!
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Krispies de Arroz de Kellogg: Snap, Crackle e Pop, the best