vote for your favorite advertising icon

Advertising Week and Yahoo! want to know who America’s favorite advertising icon is. Below are the candidates:

California Raisins
Mr. Clean
Coppertone Girl
Tony the Tiger
Charlie the Tuna
Jolly Green Giant
Energizer Bunny
Pillsbury Doughboy
Keebler Elves
Trix Rabbit
AFLAC Duck
McGruff Crime Dog
Ronald McDonald
Speedy Alka-Seltzer
Michelin Man
Morton Salt Girl
Juan Valdez
Smokey Bear
Miss Chiquita
Mr. Peanut
Seat Belt Dummies
Kool-Aid Pitcher
M & M Characters
Merrill-Lynch Bull
Wise Owl
Master Lock

I voted for the Michelin Man. Characters like the California Raisins, Set Belt Dummies, Energizer Bunny and the AFLAC Duck are nice, but they haven’t had the staying power of other characters like the Michelin Man or Mr. Peanut. Even the M&M characters haven’t been around long enough for me.

I didn’t want to vote for a character that you hardly see any more like Jolly Green Giant, Charlie the Tuna, McGruff the Crime Dog, and Smokey Bear. Sure characters like Morton Salt Girl, Miss Chiquita Coppertone Girl are dominant images on their repsective packages, but you don’t see them doing anything in commercials. I never heard of the Wise Owl. And what’s up with Master Lock? Is that from the commericals where they shoot a bullet through a Master Lock? That doesn’t fit in this group really. Alka Seltzer is along the same path as Master Lock.

Juan Valdez is too creepy.

Keebler Elves: There’s too many of them. Very confusing. Merrill-Lynch Bull is a cool a55 icon, but not identifable enough for everyone. I like tigers (favorite animal as a kid), but Tony just seems to be a one-trick pony to me. He seems shallow and artificial.

I love the Kool-Aid Pitcher… a giant pitcher of kool-aid that slams through walls. How freakin’ cool is that! And he’s got that crazy deep voice. But, I am sad to say he does not get my vote cuz he has a lame name. “Kool-Aid Pitcher”? Geez. It’s like they forgot to give him a name. Everything about Kool-Aid Pitcher is cool except the sad name.

Until the Olympics, I had a strong dislike for Ronald McDonald for about 5 years. He is very egotistical, self-centered, and cocky. But now that they have 10 second commercials where Ronald doesn’t talk, I’m warming up to him.

That leaves Pillsbury Doughboy, Trix Rabbit, Mr. Peanut, and Michelin Man. I’d be happy with any of these. The Sprint commercial has added tremendous value to the Doughboy. Simply brillant. Trix Rabbit is a wonderfully simple, yet complex character. The commercials that came out about 2-3 years ago of Mr. Peanut dancing are fantastic. Such smoooooooth animation. And the Michelin Man is just bad a55. But the more I think about it. Mich Man has that baby in the tire image to compete with. That’s bad. I want to change my vote.

I’d have to go with Trix Rabbit. Doughboy was one-dimensional before the Sprint commerical. One commercial cannot make a great icon. Mr. Peanut doesn’t talk. I want the greatest icon of all time to talk. Trix the Rabbit is the winner. His endless hunt for Trix cereal has been going on strong for how many decades? And he always finds new methods in his attempt to get that tasty Trix cereal. But then again, the way the Trix Rabbit is drawn isn’t distinctive enought. Mr. Peanut has his top hat. Doughboy is gooey and has a cook’s hat. Mich Man is crazy-bubble-shaped. And Tony at least has the red scarf. Trix Rabbit just looks like a tall rabbit. Maybe I’ll stick with my original vote for Mich Man just cuz he’s cool. Cool factor wins.