With the recent passing of Billy Mays and the the subsequent publicity surrounding his death, I wondered if other pitchmen were given the same ceremonious sendoff with tributes and fan fare. Now I am not talking about the guy who hawked the pet rock, chia pet or any other novelty, but rather someone more recognizable – think the Marlboro Man, but bigger. Yes, I am talking about cartoon pitchmen. The perfect sales tool to get kids on the hook and the parents spending money to keep them happy.

While this isn’t limited to cigarettes, Camel may have had the ultimate mascot hawking their cancer sticks and hooking millions of adolescent smokers in Joe Camel. However, when the AMA conducted a study and found that five and six-year olds could recognize the middle eastern mammal as easily as the could Micky Mouse, well good friends, that is when the red flags went up. Our friend Joe became public enemy number one and had a bigger target painted on his chest than Osama Bin Laden. With parents and Congress up in arms over the cartoon hawking some tasty smokes, it was inevitable that the Camel would meet his demise. In July of 2007, RJ Reynolds put the final plug on Joe, ending an era of pool halls, motorcycle riding, sailing and any other “Cool” activity that Joe was a part of.

The government may have stepped in and taken down a known killer of millions, there were many other cartoon pitch-folk who drew kids into their products. Perhaps my favorite of the group was the strawberry marshmallowy Herman Munster knock-off Frankenberry. While General Mills might still sell the monster cereals, the pink Frankenstein hasn’t been seen on TVs in quite some time. I guess sugar for breakfast was proven not to be a good thing for young children

Joe and Frankenberry may have influenced the younger generation, the final retired pitchman helped fill a void. Not only that, but he was the symbol of getting a pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less. For over a decade, Dominos ads were graced with the presence of the whimsical Noid (here, here, here & here). Whether it was over-saturation or a crazy guy named Noid who held up a Dominos resturant in 1989, the Noid was retired and all was sad in the land of pizza and the realm of cartoon mascots.

There are still some cartoon characters who hawk products every now and then, however the golden age for marketers using toons to hook kids early is dead and gone. Ahh to be a kid again, having smokes, sugary cereal and pizza in 30 minutes or less. Those were the days, never to be seen again as the world is surrounded by PC and everyone being a robot.

With the recent passing of Billy Mays and the the subsequent publicity surrounding his death, I wondered if other pitchmen were given the same ceremonious sendoff with tributes and fan fare. Now I am not talking about the guy who hawked the pet rock, chia pet or any other novelty, but rather someone more recognizable – think the Marlboro Man, but bigger. Yes, I am talking about cartoon pitchmen. The perfect sales tool to get kids on the hook and the parents spending money to keep them happy.

While this isn’t limited to cigarettes, Camel may have had the ultimate mascot hawking their cancer sticks and hooking millions of adolescent smokers in Joe Camel. However, when the AMA conducted a study and found that five and six-year olds could recognize the middle eastern mammal as easily as the could Micky Mouse, well good friends, that is when the red flags went up. Our friend Joe became public enemy number one and had a bigger target painted on his chest than Osama Bin Laden. With parents and Congress up in arms over the cartoon hawking some tasty smokes, it was inevitable that the Camel would meet his demise. In July of 2007, RJ Reynolds put the final plug on Joe, ending an era of pool halls, motorcycle riding, sailing and any other “Cool” activity that Joe was a part of.

The government may have stepped in and taken down a known killer of millions, there were many other cartoon pitch-folk who drew kids into their products. Perhaps my favorite of the group was the strawberry marshmallowy Herman Munster knock-off Frankenberry. While General Mills might still sell the monster cereals, the pink Frankenstein hasn’t been seen on TVs in quite some time. I guess sugar for breakfast was proven not to be a good thing for young children

Joe and Frankenberry may have influenced the younger generation, the final retired pitchman helped fill a void. Not only that, but he was the symbol of getting a pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less. For over a decade, Dominos ads were graced with the presence of the whimsical Noid (here, here, here & here). Whether it was over-saturation or a crazy guy named Noid who held up a Dominos resturant in 1989, the Noid was retired and all was sad in the land of pizza and the realm of cartoon mascots.

There are still some cartoon characters who hawk products every now and then, however the golden age for marketers using toons to hook kids early is dead and gone. Ahh to be a kid again, having smokes, sugary cereal and pizza in 30 minutes or less. Those were the days, never to be seen again as the world is surrounded by PC and everyone being a robot.

With the recent passing of Billy Mays and the the subsequent publicity surrounding his death, I wondered if other pitchmen were given the same ceremonious sendoff with tributes and fan fare. Now I am not talking about the guy who hawked the pet rock, chia pet or any other novelty, but rather someone more recognizable – think the Marlboro Man, but bigger. Yes, I am talking about cartoon pitchmen. The perfect sales tool to get kids on the hook and the parents spending money to keep them happy.

While this isn’t limited to cigarettes, Camel may have had the ultimate mascot hawking their cancer sticks and hooking millions of adolescent smokers in Joe Camel. However, when the AMA conducted a study and found that five and six-year olds could recognize the middle eastern mammal as easily as the could Micky Mouse, well good friends, that is when the red flags went up. Our friend Joe became public enemy number one and had a bigger target painted on his chest than Osama Bin Laden. With parents and Congress up in arms over the cartoon hawking some tasty smokes, it was inevitable that the Camel would meet his demise. In July of 2007, RJ Reynolds put the final plug on Joe, ending an era of pool halls, motorcycle riding, sailing and any other “Cool” activity that Joe was a part of.

The government may have stepped in and taken down a known killer of millions, there were many other cartoon pitch-folk who drew kids into their products. Perhaps my favorite of the group was the strawberry marshmallowy Herman Munster knock-off Frankenberry. While General Mills might still sell the monster cereals, the pink Frankenstein hasn’t been seen on TVs in quite some time. I guess sugar for breakfast was proven not to be a good thing for young children

Joe and Frankenberry may have influenced the younger generation, the final retired pitchman helped fill a void. Not only that, but he was the symbol of getting a pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less. For over a decade, Dominos ads were graced with the presence of the whimsical Noid (here, here, here & here). Whether it was over-saturation or a crazy guy named Noid who held up a Dominos resturant in 1989, the Noid was retired and all was sad in the land of pizza and the realm of cartoon mascots.

There are still some cartoon characters who hawk products every now and then, however the golden age for marketers using toons to hook kids early is dead and gone. Ahh to be a kid again, having smokes, sugary cereal and pizza in 30 minutes or less. Those were the days, never to be seen again as the world is surrounded by PC and everyone being a robot.

With the recent passing of Billy Mays and the the subsequent publicity surrounding his death, I wondered if other pitchmen were given the same ceremonious sendoff with tributes and fan fare. Now I am not talking about the guy who hawked the pet rock, chia pet or any other novelty, but rather someone more recognizable – think the Marlboro Man, but bigger. Yes, I am talking about cartoon pitchmen. The perfect sales tool to get kids on the hook and the parents spending money to keep them happy.

While this isn’t limited to cigarettes, Camel may have had the ultimate mascot hawking their cancer sticks and hooking millions of adolescent smokers in Joe Camel. However, when the AMA conducted a study and found that five and six-year olds could recognize the middle eastern mammal as easily as the could Micky Mouse, well good friends, that is when the red flags went up. Our friend Joe became public enemy number one and had a bigger target painted on his chest than Osama Bin Laden. With parents and Congress up in arms over the cartoon hawking some tasty smokes, it was inevitable that the Camel would meet his demise. In July of 2007, RJ Reynolds put the final plug on Joe, ending an era of pool halls, motorcycle riding, sailing and any other “Cool” activity that Joe was a part of.

The government may have stepped in and taken down a known killer of millions, there were many other cartoon pitch-folk who drew kids into their products. Perhaps my favorite of the group was the strawberry marshmallowy Herman Munster knock-off Frankenberry. While General Mills might still sell the monster cereals, the pink Frankenstein hasn’t been seen on TVs in quite some time. I guess sugar for breakfast was proven not to be a good thing for young children

Joe and Frankenberry may have influenced the younger generation, the final retired pitchman helped fill a void. Not only that, but he was the symbol of getting a pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less. For over a decade, Dominos ads were graced with the presence of the whimsical Noid (here, here, here & here). Whether it was over-saturation or a crazy guy named Noid who held up a Dominos resturant in 1989, the Noid was retired and all was sad in the land of pizza and the realm of cartoon mascots.

There are still some cartoon characters who hawk products every now and then, however the golden age for marketers using toons to hook kids early is dead and gone. Ahh to be a kid again, having smokes, sugary cereal and pizza in 30 minutes or less. Those were the days, never to be seen again as the world is surrounded by PC and everyone being a robot.