History Main / Mascot

* ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'' has Alfred E. Neuman, that gap-toothed boy featured in nearly all covers.

* ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'' has Eustace Tilley, the top-hatted [[RegencyEngland Regency]]-era {{Dandy}} most often depicted examining a butterfly through his monocle.

* [[Creator/WaltDisney Disney]] has two: WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse and [[Disney/PeterPan Tinker Bell]].

** Creator/{{Tecmo}} Creator/{{Koei}}'s de facto mascot is [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]], whose appeared not only in ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'', but also in ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'', ''VideoGame/WarriorsAllStars'', and had his ancestor appear in ''VideoGame/{{Nioh}}''.

* Charlie the Tuna for Starkist.

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** Snap, Crackle, and Pop for Rice Krispies.

* Most video game companies use a character from one of their franchises as a mascot; Creator/{{Nintendo}} has [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], Creator/{{SEGA}} has VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog, Creator/{{Capcom}} has [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ryu]], Creator/{{SNK}} has both [[VideoGame/FatalFury Terry Bogard]] and [[VideoGame/SamuraiShodown Nakoruru]], etc.

*** Capcom and Sega's former mascots include '''Cap'''tain '''Com'''mando and Alex Kidd, respectively. ''[[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Mega Man]]'' used to be considered a mascot for Capcom due to being quite recognizable and appearing in almost all of their crossover games (but Ryu predates him by a few months), but he's been OutOfFocus ever since Keiji Inafune left. Though recently, Capcom has shifted some focus back to Mega Man.

** Creator/{{Atlus}} uses Jack Frost and his brothers from ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei''.

* From the ''Franchise/DragonQuest'' games, [[MascotMook Slime]] is undeniably the most iconic and recognizable character from the franchise, and appears in a good majority of the merchandise sold for it.

* MascotWithAttitude: Mascots with a specific type of personality that is perceived as being "cool".

See SeriesMascot for when a character serves as the mascot for a fictional universe rather than a commercial product. See also MascotWithAttitude for mascots with a specific type of personality that is perceived as "cool", and AbandonedMascot for when a mascot is either replaced or outright abandoned.

And when the Mascot's a bad guy, see MascotVillain, or MascotMook, when the mascot is a minor bad guy.

** Bob, Quienno, and Wendell for Cinnamon Toast Crunch ([[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Only Wendell is still around]]).

** And who can ever forget Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Fruit Brute et al. from their namesake cereals?

* Colonel Sanders, for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Mind you, Harland Sanders was a real person, the founder of KFC (though he served in the military, having received the title from the state of Kentucky for his achievements as a restaurateur and kept it as a means of self-promotion), and at times attained quasi-heroic status in Kentucky. Opinions on his animated, wise-cracking, dancing doppleganger are mixed.

* Ronald [=McDonald=] has gone pretty much un-subverted to this day thanks to becoming part of the greater American pop-cultural landscape.

** In TheSeventies, TheEighties, and part of TheNineties, [=McDonalds=] had a whole army of mascots in [=McDonaldland=]. There was Mayor [=McCheese=], the Grimace (who, like Franchise/{{Godzilla}}, started as a bad guy but quickly became a good guy), the Hamburglar, Big Mac (the cop who chased the Hamburglar down), the French Fry Goblins (who bear an eerie resemblance to the ghosts in ''VideoGame/PacMan'', although the French Fry Goblins came earlier), an orange juice tree, Birdie the bird, and a host of other minor players.

* Bugs Bunny, for WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes, as well as Warner Bros.' entire animation division.

** [[ManOnFire The boy on fire]] that appeared on Bad Religion album "''Suffer''" has appeared on several t-shirts.

* Most video game companies use a character from one of their franchises as a mascot; Creator/{{Nintendo}} has [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], Creator/{{SEGA}} has VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog, Creator/{{Capcom}} has [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ryu]], Creator/{{SNK}} has [[VideoGame/FatalFury Terry Bogard]], etc.

Mascots were almost mandatory in the early days of advertising on radio and television, but are [[DiscreditedTrope far less common today,]] probably because of the growing sophistication (or cynicism if you prefer) of the audience coupled with the perception that they are, really, rather silly. Outside of advertising aimed at children and/or breakfast foods, a {{Mascot}} in a modern commercial is as likely to be [[SubvertedTrope a subversion]] as not.

*** Capcom and Sega's former mascots include '''Cap'''tain '''Com'''mando and Alex Kidd, respectively. ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' used to be considered a mascot for Capcom due to being quite recognizable and appearing in almost all of their crossover games (but Ryu predates him by a few months), but he's been OutOfFocus ever since Keiji Inafune left. Though recently, Capcom has shifted some focus back to Mega Man.
*** Konami tends to cycle through characters from several of their franchises, though out of all of them, [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]] and [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} Simon Belmont]] tend to be their two biggest and most notable picks. Though in the wake of Konami dissolving Hudson Soft, Franchise/{{Bomberman}} has also risen to a similar rank.

* Most video game companies use a character from one of their franchises as a mascot; Creator/{{Nintendo}} has [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], Creator/{{SEGA}} has Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog, Creator/{{Capcom}} has [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ryu]], Creator/{{SNK}} has [[VideoGame/FatalFury Terry Bogard]], etc.