BATTLE OF THE BRAND MASCOTS: ROUND 1 -- CHILDHOOD MASCOTS

Today I thought it would be fun to take two of my favorite brand mascots growing up and compare them in a little contest. So with out further ado... the two contestants are Toucan Sam and Trix the Rabbit!

THE CONTESTANTS:

Trix:

Trix the Rabbit is the iconic figurehead for the General Mill's Trix Cereal brand. He is a rabbit who wants more then anything to have himself all the Trix he can get his hands (or paws) on.

Trix was always trying to get and taste the fruity Trix cereal. He would where disguises and would try to fool the kids who had the cereal, but always something would go wrong and the kids would figure it out that he was the rabbit and then came that catchphrase ingrained in our minds, "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!" This tag line would  always get me thinking yes, yes they are and it would be followed by 'Mom can I have Trix's?' There were a lot of different interactive games that they would announce on the commercial that I remember as well.

An example is in one the kids were on a train and then the lights go out and all the Trix are gone and the Rabbit was disguised as one of five suspects. To play, clues were on the back of Trix boxes. In short Trix the Rabbit is a great brand mascot who does his job well and was designed well. His unique story of trying to get the Trix with different disguises keeps kids entertained and makes them want the cereal. Fun fact is that Trix actually got the cereal before in 1976 and 1980.

Here is the train commercial I was talking about, found on Youtube:

The Train Heist by the Trix Rabbit. Found on Youtube.

Toucan Sam:

Now for Toucan Sam. This toucan is a beloved brand mascot, which, like Trix the Rabbit, is still around. Toucan Sam is the smell sensitive mascot of the popular Kellogg's cereal Froot Loops.

Froot Loops was a favorite cereal of mine growing up and not just for the great taste. His commercials were great stories to watch unfold. He was always following his nose to find the Froot Loops. He and his two nephews and one niece would go on adventures and then get stumped. They then would need my help to figure it out. Then later on in the next commercial I would figure out what happened. For instance this happens with the Froot Monster who steals the Froot Loops. This dilemma spans a few commercials and in the end you want to know, do the Toucan's give him the cereal or not? The commercials can be found on Youtube. Below I have the second and last part of the story:

The second installment of the Froot Monster series. Found on Youtube.

The fourth installment of the Froot Monster series. Found on Youtube.

STATS:

Trix The Rabbit

                                                                       

Physical Status: White Rabbit. Taller than children.  

Special Abilities: Master of Disguise, Stealthy (possibly at the level of a ninja), Master Strategist.

Weaknesses: Disguises seem to fall apart. Too much celebration when he gets Trix in his hands

Enemies: Children that seem to be related to Detective Holmes.

Designed by: Joe Harris in 1959 (who was an advertising illustrator for Dancer Fitzgerald Sample ad agency before he left and started story-boarding for TV cartoons).

Age: 54 years old. 

Cereal: General Mills Trix Cereal.

Commercials: Stories of his plots and expeditions to steal the Trix cereal.They are interactive and create a want for the brand among its target youth audience. At times they keep the audience on the edge of their seats to see what happens in the next commercial.  

Toucan Sam

Physical Appearance: He is a Toucan, and exotic bird that has a beak with multiple colors on it. His beak is yellow, red, pink, and black and his feathers are blue.

Special Abilities: Amazing sense of smell (possibly better than a bloodhounds), Peoples Person, and Mad Sharing Skills.

Weaknesses: Not too observant of the area around him. Headstrong leader. 

Enemies: Dr. Peacock, Froot Monster, Froot Queen, Blackbeak, and many more.

Designed by: Manuel R. Vega in 1963, campaign now done by Pepper Films, Inc. 

Age: 50 years old

Cereal: Kellogg's Froot Loops

Commercials: Stories that featured him following his nose to the Froot Loops and then something would happen and they would have to reacquire the Froot Loops. They are interactive and keep their target youth audiences wanting to be tuned in to see what will happen next.

MY DECISION:

So which one is the better mascot? Well both are great at getting kids attention and getting them involved in their stories, which leads to more brand awareness and want for their respective cereals. Both mascots have great stories that keep the viewer (the children) involved and makes them want the product. This in turn gets them to ask their parents to get the product and thus hopefully leads to the parents purchasing it. Each has stories that are interactive and campaigns that keep suspense for the next commercial that comes out. In a way their stories act as mini cartoons. These are the reasons that I believe make Trix the Rabbit and Toucan Sam such great mascots.

So who wins?

Like I said I am a big fan of both Trix the Rabbit and Toucan Sam, but I would have to say that I like Trix just a little bit more. For me as a kid each commercial was like a new suspenseful moment waiting to see if he got caught or not trying to get the Trix and how it all played out. Toucan Sam is close behind because his campaigns always were interactive and kept my attention when I was a child. 

Let me know what you think. Who do you like more Trix or Sam? What brand characters would you like to see compared? Which are your favorites?