You'd have to be nuts to kill off a popular advertising mascot, but then again, nuts are what Planters is known for.
It happened in the lead-up to Super Bowl LIV in February 2020. In hopes of getting a big reaction, the snack food company premiered a video of their iconic mascot Mr. Peanut hanging over a chasm, clutching a tree limb next to actors Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh.
In the ad, in order to save his friends' lives, Mr. Peanut let go, plunging to his demise after a 104-year run as Planters' famous spokesperson. The video racked up several million viewers on YouTube, and prompted some lively discussion on Twitter -- as was the intention. Brands such as Dr. Pepper and Oscar-Mayer "paid their respects" to Mr. Peanut, although plenty of people were less than impressed with the publicity stunt.
Of course, Planters wasn't about to go mascot-less. In the third quarter of the Super Bowl, another ad showed Mr. Peanut's funeral. In a bizarre twist, some magical tears shed by the Kool-Aid Man fell on the grave and brought to life ... Baby Nut. However, Mr. Peanut's reincarnation as an infant didn't last long -- apparently, Baby Nut is now "Peanut Jr." and recently celebrated his 21st birthday in yet another Planters video posted on social media.
According to Mike Pierantozzi of VaynerMedia, the agency that created the original video, the idea had a solid foundation. “We started talking about how the internet treats when someone dies," he said. "Specifically, we were thinking about fictional characters."
Goodbye, Mr. Peanut, we really knew you:
- Antonio Gentile, a 14-year-old from Virginia, won $5 in 1916 when he came up with the winning entrant -- Mr. Peanut -- in Planters' mascot contest.
- During World War II, Mr. Peanut was featured on a recruitment poster entitled "Mr. Peanut Goes to War."
- Mr. Peanut was a silent spokesman for nearly a century, until actor Robert Downey Jr. began voicing the mascot in 2010, followed by Bill Hader in 2013.
