The Power of Characters: New Zealand’s Most Loved Advertising Mascots

Being remembered is not enough for advertising to be effective. To do so, the brand must be firmly embedded in people’s minds. That means uniquely ownable characters and other recurring devices aren’t just nice-to-haves in the pursuit of creative success; rather, they’re absolute necessities to build and reinforce the brand’s desired memory structures.

Among the most impactful of these devices are brand mascots; specifically, characters capable of delivering the one-two punch of emotional appeal and unmistakable brand recall.

Mascots are incredibly powerful because they put a face to what would otherwise be faceless brands. When done right, this makes companies infinitely more personable, helping to simultaneously build emotional warmth and instant recognition. With these two crucial ingredients safely in the bag, advertisers gain the creative freedom to focus on their craft, confident in the knowledge that the brand itself won’t be missed.

To understand the makings of a truly great mascot, we undertook a rigorous nationwide survey asking everyday Kiwis to spontaneously recall their favorite mascot of all time. The results provide a fascinating insight into the role mascots play in building brands that endure, both locally and globally.‍

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The Top 10: New Zealand’s Favorite Advertising Mascots

Leading the charge was New Zealand’s own Muzz from V Energy. The mascot’s energetic, youthful personality is synonymous with the brand, while its identifiable green coloring reinforces a direct visual connection to the product. Together, these elements ensure Muzz embodies both the look and feel of the brand, reinforcing a fast and seamless mental link back to V Energy.

Coming in second place was another homegrown hero: Pak’nSave’s Stickman. The results highlighted that mascots do not necessarily need to be deep and layered to work. Instead, simple but highly distinctive characters can create playful and flexible brand associations that translate across a wide variety of creative scenarios. Crucially, in Pak’nSave’s case, this simplicity seamlessly aligns with the brand’s no-frills personality.

Rounding out the Top 3 was global heavyweight Ronald McDonald. Though featuring less prominently in the fast-food giant’s marketing over recent years, the mascot’s enduring popularity demonstrates the long-term power of distinctive characters.

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Injecting Personality into Unexpected Places‍

A theme that consistently played out across the Top 10 was the ability of mascots to inject emotional warmth and personality into brands, regardless of the industry.

Some categories naturally struggle more than others to generate emotional engagement, which is exactly where mascots can play an incredibly important role. For example, turning an automotive dealer like Turners into a fun and affable brand would ordinarily be a massive challenge. However, enter "Tina from Turners," and the transformation suddenly feels effortless. It’s a perfect example of how a mascot can simultaneously drive both emotional connection and brand distinctiveness.

Ultimately, whether a brand is global or homegrown, simple or complex, a well-crafted mascot ensures that a company isn't just seen, it's remembered.‍

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About the research: ‍This was conducted via an online survey of approximately 500 New Zealanders aged 18 and over, capturing a broad cross-section of the population. Respondents were asked to name their favorite brand mascot of all time and explain what made the character memorable to them.