Child of the 80's - Mascot Mania Vol. 1

                The brand mascot has been a part of business for as long as advertising has existed.  From as far back as the first half of the 20^th century companies have tied their success to a familiar face that represents their product.   Before World War II there were icons such as Speedy Alka Seltzer, the Quaker Oats man, the Sun Maid Raisins Girl, and Mr. Peanut. 

                For children of the 1980’s, or any decade for that matter, it is easy to think back and remember which mascots or pitchmen made you want to buy a product.  For this blog I am going to share five of my favorites.  I am going to try going a little deeper and hopefully sparking some memories with these picks.  They are in no particular order, so let the flashbacks commence!

1.  Chester Cheetah – Cheetos

                Who could forget this smooth talking animated cheetah that started representing the snack company beginning in 1986?  His catchphrases were: “It ain’t easy bein’ cheesy.” and “Cheetos, the cheese that goes crunch!”  In the beginning Chester was animated in the traditional way before moving to CGI in the 21^st century.   He would always attempt to take others’ Cheetos and ultimately fail in an over the top cartoonish way.  Though this character still exists today there’s no doubting children of the 80’s have fond memories of his heyday.

2.  Fast Talker - Micro Machines

            These miniature vehicles were cool if you were a boy in the 1980’s. They were made even cooler through the commercials featuring extremely fast talker John Moschitta Jr.  At one point he was the world record holder being able to articulate 586 words per minute, his record has subsequently been broken twice.  The toys were hugely popular in the late 1980’s with Moschitta appearing in roughly 100 commercials as the Micro Machines Man.  The catchphrase he used, albeit very quickly, was: “Remember if it doesn't say Micro Machines, it's not the real thing!"

3.  Energizer Bunny

            Bursting onto the scene in 1989 was this now-classic advertising mascot.  The bunny equipped with an Energizer battery to power it began its run as a way of comparing how long he company’s batteries would last in comparison to the competition.  In its initial commercial a group of mechanical bunnies beat snare drums when the pink bunny came in beating a bass drum.  It then wandered into several fictitious commercials with the tag line ‘Still going…nothing outlasts Energizer, they keep going and going…”  Since then the fluffy mascot has appeared in well over a hundred commercials with no signs of slowing down.

4.  Snausages Dog

            Though the product line is still going strong today the mascot of these dog treats has been reduced to an image on the packaging.  The product created by Ken-L Ration debuted in 1984 with a commercial featuring the dog repeating the products name as it poked its head out from behind bushes and trees.  The Snausages name became well known throughout the 1980’s, later adding another classic commercial for their Snausages In A Blanket.  More than thirty years later Snausages is still going strong with the happy dog mascot still adorning the products and website.

5.  Cookiepuss et al – Carvel Ice Cream

                Founded in 1929 by Tom Carvel this ice cream company was huge back in the 1980’s.  The ice cream cakes became the stuff of legend with the unique designs being given different names such as Cookiepuss, Fudgie the Whale, Dumpy the Pumpkin, and a Santa Claus among others.   Carvel reached its zenith in 1985 with 865 stores grossing more than $300 million.  I can remember the Carvel store in the K-Mart plaza in Hyannis back then.  It was fun to go and see the made up cakes, even if I didn’t get one.  Though there are only about 400 stores open today Carvel still has a strong presence in supermarkets with its ice cream cakes.

                Those are only a few of the famed advertising mascots from the 1980’s.  There will definitely be a Volume 2 coming up, but for now enjoy the memories, and classic commercials here.  Stay tuned for more gnarly 80’s flashbacks! 

Click here to check out my last Child of the 1980's blog Mixtape Madness!