When Mascots Are Better Than the Candy

I've never done the research, but I'm wondering if the quality of the candy mascot is related to the quality of the candy. I would say that for the most part, the better the mascot, the worse the candy. It's probably not always the case, but I think it's probably the case most of the time. I also don't think it works the other way around. I've seen some pretty bad candies out there with some pretty awful mascots as well.

Check out my latest review of a fairly blah taffy, but it has a great mascot.

McDonalds Anime Update

 Ronald McDonald is probable one of the most famous food mascots ever created. I say this because I’ve seen depictions of Ronald all over the world, and I’m pretty sure that kids and adults all over the place associate this brightly coloured clown with burgers, nuggets and fun fast food. Thailand even has some very unique Ronald statues to greet people outside of every single restaurant.

The thing is, Ronald seems to be disappearing a bit. While there are still hints of him everywhere, he’s not commonly found at every restaurant anymore. I’ve seen many documentaries about the rise and fall of Ronald and the entire McDonald Land cast, and there are many theories about why these characters seem to be falling out of favour at the restaurants. Oddly however I am finding that these characters are starting to become more popular outside the restaurants, being used in clothes, shoes, and even some fine art and collectible toys.

It seems like the licensing of Ronald and the McDonald’s Land characters is going strong, but for marketing in restaurants they seem to be completely disappearing. Again I’m not sure why this is happening for sure, but I am noticing in Asia that these classic characters are starting to be replaced by new Anime style characters.

While there are some food related characters in the mix, the main theme seems to be characters based on the people working at McDonald’s. Maybe this is not only a way to sell food, but also a way to try and get people to apply for jobs.

What I wonder is how deep this goes. While I’ve seen a few posters, cut outs and window decorations of these characters, I haven’t seen any of the obvious marketing pieces that would make sense for Anime style characters, like comics and animation. I think it might be fun to see the adventures of some characters that work at a McDonald’s that’s regular attacked by various fast food related robots and monsters.

Amazing Candy/Junk Food Things That You Should Buy - Kool Aid Man Funko Pop

This might be the only Funko Pop that works really well with the black creepy eyes.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertisement

Fujiya, a popular candy in Japan, has this strange little girl as their mascot.  While the design of this little girl isn't that odd, the fact that she always has her tong out is what makes her kind of creepy.  They also cover everything in their store with this little girl.  All of their packages, posters, and they even have little statues of this girl in front of their stores.  What do you think, could you stare at this girl and not be a little freaked out?  What's she hiding?

I found this toy photo here.

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