Company Mascots

Did you ever wonder about some of these mascots that restaurants and food purveyors develop to help sell their products? For instance – who came up with McDonald's Grimace character? And perhaps more to the point – what is Grimace? He looks like an oversized grape gumdrop with a fish face and the IQ to match. How does that character help sell cheeseburgers? Even the very name of the character – Grimace. How would you ever integrate a name like that into an advertising campaign? “Stop by McDonald's today and enjoy one of our delicious cheeseburgers. Just one bite and you'll be grimacing like Grimace.” Somehow I don't think that will work...

Or what about that Taco Bell Chihuahua? I mean, it is kind of cute with it's little accent and sarcasm, but you're advertising a product filled with what may or may not be ground beef. Do you really want people associating that with a small dog?

And of course my favorite mascot was on this can of tuna fish I picked up at the store the other day. I've forgotten the brand name, but right in the middle of the label it had a brightly colored image of the company's mascot – a Mr. Albacore, who I must say had a rather uncanny resemblance to a Mr. Dolphin I once met.

But I suppose not all mascots can work out. And not all ideas that seem great on paper can turn out as expected. Thank goodness we at least have the California Raisins. Because nothing says “Eat your California raisins today” more than a quartet of shriveled brown balls singing “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.”