The quirky history of mascots and their impact on marketing

Many companies use mascots to engage with their audience and promote their brands. Turns out that lovable, quirky mascots are an effective marketing tool. Researchers have found that mascots can influence purchasing decisions and consumer intent.

Indeed, research suggests that brands with mascots are 37 percent more likely to increase market share than brands without and are also 30 percent more likely to increase profits.

Researchers at Cornell further found that consumers were 16 percent more likely to trust a cereal brand if on-box characters made direct eye contact. For this reason, the characters on kids’ cereal are often angled downward, while characters on adult cereal boxes stare straight ahead.

Mascots are especially effective with children. Mascots increase brand recognition and children prefer brands with mascots to brand without mascots. Children are also more likely to eat food, including fruit, if it’s endorsed by a mascot.

Quaker Oats Quaker Man is among the oldest mascots and has been around since 1877. Many early mascots were people, perhaps because it’s easy to dress someone up in a Quaker outfit.

Research has found that to this day, 21 percent of mascots are based on humans.

Animals are popular as well, with birds accounting for 19 percent and domesticated animals, including cows and cats, making up 16 percent. Vegetables make up just 2 percent. Still, by 1916, Mr. Peanut was repping Planters Peanuts. The part-human, part-vegetable Green Giant appeared in 1928, encouraging kids to eat their greens.

Ronald McDonald, perhaps the poster child for company mascots, first hit the stage in 1963. Then there’s McDonald’s purple Grimace. Some folks theorize that the giant purple blob is actually a walking, talking taste bud. McDonald’s, however, claims that “the best part about Grimace is that he means different things to different people.”