Earlier today Planters officially kicked off Super Bowl commercial season, “announcing” that their bespectacled mascot Mr. Peanut had “officially” passed away in their new ad for the event. The Planters “Road Trip” 2020 Big Game Commercial showed Mr. Peanut on a road trip with actors Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh (Veep). Things took a turn for the action-movie-worst when the Mr. Peanut mobile goes flying off a cliff, forcing the trio of travelers to make a desperate jump for it. All three are left hanging off a branch over a cliff, and Mr. Peanut – forever a hero – sacrifices himself to save his comrades. You can see the first half of the commercial in the player below.
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In the wake of his “passing,” other brands have begun to pay their respects now with the iconic Mr. Clean chiming in about Mr. Peanuts passing. “Always classy, always crunchy, always cleaned up nicely. We’ll miss him! #RIPeanut,” the mascot tweeted.
Lest you think that this is a situation of Disney’s brands interacting together like they did ahead of the Disney+ launch, Mr. Peanut and Mr. Clean are actually owned by separate companies. Mr. Peanut and the Planters brand is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company while Mr. Clean reports to the head of Procter & Gamble. This marks perhaps the first time the pair have crossed over, despite the familiar nature implied by Mr. Clean.
This new Planters ad featuring the death of their mascot is definitely one of the weirdest commercials made for the Super Bowl in a while, but it’s clearly worked as fans can’t stop tweeting about as it’s been trending throughout the day. The Mr. Peanut account has gone all-in on the campaign as well, changing its name to The Estate of Mr. Peanut in effort to drive home the point.
“It’s with heavy hearts that we confirm MR. PEANUT has passed away at 104 years old,” said Samantha Hess, PLANTERS Brand Manager at Kraft Heinz. “He will be remembered as the legume who always brought people together for nutty adventures and a good time. We encourage fans to tune in to MR. PEANUT’s funeral during the third quarter of the Super Bowl to celebrate his life.”
In addition to the changing of its name, the Twitter account for The Estate of Mr. Peanut has also updated its bio and profile picture to fit with the storyline. The new picture is a black and white picture of Mr. Peanut’s monocle with a teardrop falling from it. The bio reads, “The official Twitter of the Estate of Mr. Peanut (1916-2020).”
The second half of the Planters ad will play during the Super Bowl on February 2nd, so we’ll see if Mr. Peanut miraculously finds a way back to life. Place your bets on his miraculous recovery, or perhaps his awakening from a dream, in the comments below.
