Food Advertising Icons and Trade Characters

Food Advertising Icons and Trade Characters

In 2004, an online survey via Yahoo! and USA Today involving nearly 700,000 participants chose the nation’s most popular advertising icons. Four of the five top finishers—the M&M characters, Mr. Peanut, The Pillsbury Doughboy, and Tony the Tiger—represented food companies.

Directions

In this activity, you will select a food icon from the list below. For the food icon you will create a short Power Point presentation in which you will include the following information:

- The history of the food icon (when were they created, for what company, to market what food/product, were they based on any real life person)

- What was premise behind the marketability behind this character (why were they chosen to market this product?) Were any slogans or jingles created to increase their marketability?

- How much money was spent on advertising

- Did they have any competition from other companies

- Review some older advertisements from when the icon was created until today (or when they were no longer used). Include examples of past and current advertisements in your Power Point. What changes, if any, were made to the food icon? Why?

- Is there any controversial issues surrounding the food icon?

- Is the icon being used today? Why or why not

Mr. Peanut

Quaker Oats Man

Tony the Tiger

Ronald McDonald

Burger King

The Jolly Green Giant

The singing California raisins

“Poppin’ Fresh,” the Pillsbury Doughboy

The cherubic “Campbell Kids”

Aunt Jemima (pancake mixes),

Uncle Ben (rice)

Uncle Rastus (popularly called the “Cream of Wheat Chef”) all “Frito Bandito”

Sue Bee Honey

Land O’ Lakes Maiden

Snap, Crackle and Pop

Quaker Oats’ Cap’n Horatio Crunch

General Mills’ Lucky Charms Lucky the Leprechaun.

Cornelius the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes rooster

the Trix rabbit

Toucan Sam

Charlie Tuna – Starkist

The Kool Aid Man

Betty Cricker

Elsie the Cow

Keebler Elves

Wendy

Mr. Peanut has changed his look, but never his definitive style, over the decades.

Poppin' Fresh the Pillsbury Doughboy, one of the most beloved American food product icons.

An old-time Aunt Jemima advertisement. Aunt Jemima has since taken on a more modern look.

Native American groups object to stereotypes of American Indians such as this Sue Bee Honey logo.

Always scheming to get into the tuna can, always having to say he's sorry, that's Charlie Tuna.