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Mr.
Peanut Comes Home
Virginia
is the home of some American icons. In the first ever Favorite Ad Icons
and Slogans Competition last November, the
M&Ms's characters, created by the McLean-based
Mars, Inc., and Mr. Peanut, born and bred in
Suffolk, ranked first and third among the top six. Number two was the AFLAC duck--a
definite outsider--in the contest sponsored by the
American Association of Advertising Agencies.
Mr.
Peanut's origins are, perhaps, the more fascinating
of these two Old Dominion icons. Few of the 700,000 who voted in the online
competition via Yahoo! and USA
Today, are aware of the dapper nut’s humble
beginnings 89 years ago.
In 1913, an Italian
immigrant, Amedeo Obici, relocated his Planters Nut
and Chocolate Company from Pennsylvania
to
Suffolk, closer to the Virginia
peanuts he preferred
for his roasting operation. Several years later, in
1916, he sponsored a contest in a local newspaper to
design a mascot for the company. A local 14-year-old
named Antonio Gentile won the $5 grand prize with a
drawing of a peanut person with arms and crossed
legs. He called his creation “Mr. Peanut.”
Later, a graphic artist added the monocle, top hat,
white gloves and cane to emphasize that Planters
peanuts were in a class by themselves. An icon was
born. As a writer with the Corporate Design
Foundation has said, “If Fred Astaire were
reincarnated as a nut, he’d definitely be the
Planters’ Mr. Peanut.”
Mr. Peanut is also a survivor, despite
the many corporate transformations of his parent.
According to a 2003 article on the company’s
history in a
Pennsylvania newspaper, Standard
Brands bought Planters Nut and Chocolate in 1960,
then merged with Nabisco in 1980. Five years later
Nabisco merged with R.J. Reynolds and in 2000
Phillip Morris bought Nabisco, then renamed itself
Altria. Phew! Planters is now part of the Altria
Kraft Division.
Through it all, Antonio’s “little
peanut person” has endured. In fact, efforts to
update the timeless icon have met with criticism.
Last year, a
New York
ad agency tried to make Mr. Peanut more of a common fellow having him
dance across a basketball court during March
madness. Some were skeptical. In a New
York Times article last spring (“Updating a
Venerable Character, or Tarnishing a Sterling
Reputation?” March 19, 2004), David Altschul,
president of a consulting firm that specializes in
creating and renewing brands, wondered that when an
icon “with that kind of longevity is such a part
of the cultural landscape, the question becomes, are
you building a story meaningful to the brand?”
This, of course, is ad speak but, in essence, he
suggested the makeover “doesn’t do justice” to
Mr. Peanut. He is much more than Planters’ logo;
he’s a part of our cultural history.
The M&M’s characters are a bit
younger than their more reserved colleague. The
candy itself was introduced in 1940, after Forrest
Mars, Sr. saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War
eating sugar-coated chocolate pellets. The candy
became popular with GIs in World War II because it
traveled well without melting. It wasn’t until
1954, when peanut M&Ms joined the ranks, that
the Red and Yellow characters made their appearance.
After the fiercely private Mars, Sr. took
over the candy empire from his father in 1964, he
moved the company’s headquarters from
Chicago
to
McLean. An equestrian and fox hunter, he wanted to pursue his avocations in the
Virginia
countryside. Thanks in part to Red, Yellow and their compatriots, Mars,
Inc., is considered one of the largest privately
owned companies in the world, with annual revenue of
$17 billion and 30,000 employees worldwide.
In ad speak, M&M’s brand awareness
is 99 percent, thanks to the characters. In fact,
they have spawned a lucrative licensing business.
You can purchase everything from M&M’s-themed
notebooks and binders to car antenna toppers. You
can even personalize M&M’s with the name of
your favorite sports team or order wedding favors
with the names of the happy couple on the candy!
But, back to Mr. Peanut, who is more
authentically homegrown. In Suffolk, where he was born,
there is an annual Peanut Fest and the local
hospital is named after Planters founder Obici. We
also hear the beloved icon is honored with a statue
and a small museum. In fact, more than a dozen other
cast-iron likenesses of Mr. P. adorn the fence of
Planters’ newest processing facility. Back in
1996, Suffolk
Sun staff writer Linda McNatt suggested that the
city’s 1,000-plus fire hydrants already resembled
the shape of the Planters mascot. A bit of paint
would finish the job, she wrote. After all, in
Hershey,
PA, the street lamps
are shaped like chocolate kisses.
Well, maybe next year when Mr. Peanut
turns 90.
--
February 14, 2005
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