Mr. Peanut’s death rattles the internet

Date: Jan 23 2020

No, you didn’t misread it. Mr. Peanut, the name of Planters’ longtime mascot, was trending on social media Tuesday, after the peanut brand announced his death following a car accident alongside his celebrity friends, Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh.

By about 1938, Mr. Peanut had appeared on his first billboard in Times Square. He starred in his first TV commercial in the ‘50s. The character was welcomed into Madison Avenue’s Advertising Walk of Fame in 2004.

Mr. Peanut’s death is the latest in a long line of gimmicks that brands have used leading up to the Super Bowl. It ranks up there with IHOP changing its name to IHOb (for burgers).