Salty...

Apparently Planters Peanuts has decided to give their old mascot Mr. Peanut a new look. Much like the Gap logo discussed earlier this year, it has been seen on the internet first and subjugated to EVERYONE'S opinion. This is an example of the instant feedback companies can receive from the public and consumers made possible by the ever so wonderful internet. Of course with every change to an old idea that has been successful, people have their negative things to say about 'new' design. For how much they have changed they haven't changed much in my opinion, if that makes sense. The biggest change comes from giving the peanut a voice which it has never had since its creation in 1916 and will be provided by a Mr. Robert Downey Jr., arguably the biggest name in Hollywood at the moment. The style of animation or artistic convention is the other biggest change moving Mr. Peanut from a flat 2D bright yellow image to a 3 dimensionally rendered peanut who's color is much closer to that of an actual peanut. Apart from those differences he still retains his monocle, top-hat, and cane and reminds us to stay as classy as we were in the 20s.

I would venture to say that this revamp is an attempt by the planter's peanut company to try and reconnect with a younger audience by using fun 3D animation and giving him a voice that we all will recognize. Not to mention that Downey is a poster-boy of cool and classy like the dandy Mr. Peanut was back in the 20s when he was gaining his popularity. I don't doubt that having this fun, textured, new look combined with Downey's swag will at least spark a few conversations about planters and their new Mr. Peanut which is all their looking for anyway. I do doubt that people, despite their negative comments, will stop buying peanuts based solely on this new design.