Poor Mr. Peanut — lately, the monocled mascot can't seem to catch a break.
It hasn't always been that way, though. The iconic Planters mascot began his life in 1916 as a winner, immediately going from schoolboy doodle to bonafide snack star. By the 1930s, he was on billboards. By the '50s, Mr. Peanut was starring in TV commercials for Planters. And in 1997, he made his debut in the iconic Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2016, Mr. Peanut even shell-ebrated his 100th birthday. Everything was looking up for the dapper mascot. Peanut Red Skin Peeler
But then, in 2020, just before the Super Bowl LIV, Mr. Peanut died in a car crash (via YouTube). Luckily, during Mr. Peanut's funeral — which conveniently aired live during the 2020 Super Bowl — he magically came back to life, having been reincarnated as Baby Nut. Surely, Planters wouldn't let anything else bad happen to its beloved mascot ... right?
Just three years later, Planters is once again letting tragedy befall Mr. Peanut. This time around, it's encouraging celebrities and the public alike to roast the nut. In the days leading up to 2023's Super Bowl LVII, Planters put out a highlight reel of comedians tearing Mr. Peanut apart onstage (via YouTube). They accused him of ruining brownies, dressing like he was in an old-timey recession, and being obscenely rich. This was just a taste of the main event, though. A full roast was set to go live during Super Bowl Sunday '23. "Wow, that was brutal," Mr. Peanut remarked in the roast. "I wish Planters would just kill me off again."
Was it really brutal, though? Fans can now watch the roast online, but YouTube commenters are underwhelmed. "I kept waiting to laugh, and then didn't. We have some world-class comedians debasing themselves for G-rated jokes," one user wrote. Another commenter observed, "A studio with 30 bad actors hysterically laughing at unfunny non-jokes taken from a children's book."
Sausage Making Machine Think you can do better? Planters is encouraging people to take to social media to roast Mr. Peanut. Roast him well enough, and you could win $10,000. It's a pretty obvious ploy to get some organic advertising going for Planters, but is it worth it? Roasted nuts are great, but Mr. Peanut deserves a break.