How Animated Mascots Turned Brands Into Icons
- Adilla
- Nov 21
- 5 min read
Have you ever noticed how attached you get when associated with a certain colour, animal or even a symbol?
While humans’ natural response of forming strong connections and attachments is one of the reasons, everyone grew up attached to a symbolic character or animal, one way or another.
School mascots, for example.
Every school probably had a tiger or an eagle as a symbol for sports clubs. So, character marketing isn’t just limited to brands, but that’s why it works. You don’t see a character and go, “Oh, this is a marketing tactic.”
Instead, we forge emotional connections with these brand mascots.
Table of Contents
Why Animated Characters/Mascots Work for Brands
Something about characters and brand mascots gives an emotional reaction that makes them memorable and recognisable. They don’t only make it as a sole symbol.
Branding characters are attached to stories that evoke emotions from the audience.
More often than not, these emotions influence consumer behaviours, making them trust the brand more and willing to convert to customers. With an added visual anchor, brands won’t have to attach their company logo or name to market their brand, taking advantage of the emotional response of their consumers.
Classic Brand Mascots That Nailed Their Marketing
M&M’s
When you see round colour mascots displayed in the ads, you can’t help but think of M&M’s candies.
Each of these candies has a distinct personality, and these animated branding mascots are less about marketing the food. Its selling point is the stories, making consumers attached to these colourful snacks.
Michelin Man
One of the oldest brand mascots that’s recognised not only for the tyre company but also for the Michelin stars for restaurants. They’re given to restaurants that fulfil their requirement of exceptional food that’s worth a stop.
Its bulbous shape remains the same to this day, reflecting stacks of tyres.
Julius Pringles
If you love snacking on potato chips, you will recognise this face from a mile away.
While Mr Pringles has been redesigned over the years, the iconic little eyes, moustache, and bowtie have been the signature for Pringles for as long as this brand has existed.
Why Timeless Animated Mascot Designs Work
These branding character designs are built with simplicity and functionality in mind. They consider the quality of their design to be able to last different eras of the marketing world and endure the need to rebrand often.
Modern Mascots in Digital Spaces
Duolingo the Owl
This green owl has been the brand mascot of this app, which even those who don’t use the app recognise. His playful design and interaction reflect the fun and playful way they teach many languages in their app.
Mailchimp’s “Freddie”
A mischievous, fun monkey that doesn’t typically reflect a corporate mascot, but it works. It symbolises Mailchimp’s approach to marketing and their world of emails: creative, light-hearted and playful.
This mascot proves that a brand doesn’t have to reflect the industry that they’re in but what the brand is trying to convey and bring.
The Android Bot
Long-time Android users would recognise this green robot at a glance. ‘The Bot’ became the branding character of Android’s operating system from 2007. Matching the typical tech design, this little robot is minimalistic, which blends well with the brand’s goal and purpose.
The Strategy of Digital-First Mascots
Unlike the classic mascots in the previous list, these modern brand mascots had to keep in mind the versatility to be displayed on various digital platforms and in interactive spaces. So, they build that emotional connection that brands seek without fully needing a story attached to them.
Teo, TESSR’s Mascot
Drawing inspiration from previous mascots, Teo was created. This orange square represents TESSR. While Teo has a tech version, its primary identity is fun and compassionate.
Teo embodies the passion and love for creativity within a space that fosters mental health and effective creative project management.
You can find Teo on this website, TESSR’s social media platforms and game streams, where the team behind TESSR represents this coloured square. Fun fact, it earned the namesake ‘cheese slice’ from the audience that joined the gaming stream.
The Mascot for Creatives
TESSR aims to normalise creative project management for creative projects like animations. By creating software with a fun, friendly vibe, it reflects what TESSR wants to aim for: for creatives to have better workdays and stay passionate in their creative abilities.
How Can You Apply Characters in Your Brand Context?
Mascot branding has to align with the personality and visual of the brand’s identity. Whether it is true colour, fonts or even shape, trial and error are required to find the perfect fit.
Therefore, to apply a strong character for the brand, it needs to represent the values and roles of the brand, not only for some fun decoration (well, it can be one of the reasons, too).
Moreover, it must also be scalable and consistent across touchpoints like social media platforms, product user interfaces, motion graphics, and campaigns. Brand characters or mascots only work when they become an active part of the story your audience cares about.
Key Takeaways
Brand characters don’t always have to reflect the industry that they’re in, as long as they convey the message they want to bring.
Branding characters are built with timeless design in mind, with the diversity of being displayed in digital spaces.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What makes an animated mascot successful?
An animated branding mascot is successful for its memorable story and personality while being adaptable for different marketing spaces.
Should my brand create a traditional or modern mascot?
You are encouraged to create either a traditional or modern mascot as long as it reflects the brand’s identity. You could even create both and have them coexist with each other.
Why do we get an emotional reaction from seeing a mascot?
We get an emotional reaction from seeing a mascot, mainly from a psychological reaction of our tendency to attach human-like characteristics to non-human things.
Author Bio
With a background in Arts English, Adilla has been a casual writer for various hobbies like parodies of animated shows and plots for board games. She loves to read anything and everything, from fantasy stories to articles on tips and tricks. Now an advocate for mental health and effective project management for the creative industry. Currently, Adilla resides in Malaysia and is a creative writer at TESSR. To know more about her, check out her LinkedIn.
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