Mr. Peanut's Death

About

Mr. Peanut's Death refers to an advertising campaign in which the Planters mascot, Mr. Peanut, sacrifices himself and dies in a commercial that will air during Super Bowl LIV. The ad released on YouTube ten days before the Super Bowl, and led to jokes about the mascot's "death."

Background

On January 22nd, 2020, Planters released an advertisement in which Mr. Peanut is on a road trip with Matt Walsh and Wesley Snipes. After getting in a car accident, the trio is hanging over a gorge on a tree branch that's about to break due to their weight. Mr. Peanut sacrifices himself and falls, presumably to his death.

The Mr. Peanut Twitter account played into the story that Mr. Peanut had died, tweeting,^[1] "It is with heavy hearts that we confirm that Mr. Peanut has died at 104. In the ultimate selfless act, he sacrificed himself to save his friends when they needed him most. Please pay your respects with #RIPeanut" (shown below).

Developments

After the tweet, many Twitter users joked about the mascot's "death," posting sarcastic tributes and stories about their interactions with Mr. Peanut. User @ChaseMit^[2] joked, "Still in shock. I just talked to Mr. Peanut like two days ago," gaining over 340 likes (shown below, left). User @marknorm^[3] joked, "I’m glad Mr. Peanut is dead. He was an evil dictator, roasting then selling his own kind for decades," gaining over 320 likes (shown below, right).

Others joked about methods that caused Mr. Peanut's death. User @mooncult^[4] posted a parody of a scene from The Deer Hunter, gaining over 50 retweets and 230 likes (shown below, left). User @charlesvpayne^[5] jokingly insinuated that Mr. Peanut was murdered before testifying in the Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump, gaining over 490 retweets and 3,000 likes (shown below, right). Jokes were covered by Cnet,^[6] Junkee,^[7] and others.

Planters Pauses Campaign

On January 27th, 2020, Planters announced in a statement that they would pause the campaign in light of the death of former professional basketball player Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash the day prior. They said, "We are saddened by this weekend’s news and Planters has paused all campaign activities, including paid media, and will evaluate next steps through a lens of sensitivity to those impacted by this tragedy."^[8]

Baby Nut

Baby Nut or Baby Mr. Peanut refers to the reborn version of Mr. Peanut which was revealed during a Superbowl LIV commercial in February 2020. Following the reveal, the character became a subject of memes online, including memes drawing comparisons to Baby Yoda, memes expressing a desire to violently destroy the Baby Nut, and jokes about its name. Additionally, Baby Nut meme accounts created before the reveal were discovered, suggesting that Planters attempted to force a meme.

Search Interest

External References