When you think of an unforgettable ad, what comes to mind first- a celebrity cameo or a quirky character like the M&M’s spokescandies?

If your answer leans toward the latter, you're not alone and science is on your side. In today’s noisy advertising environment, marketers are in a constant battle for attention. But what most don’t realize is this: who delivers your message can matter just as much as what you say. And while celebrities bring star power, it's often the brand mascots, those animated, fictional, or personified figures, that leave the deeper, longer-lasting imprint on your audience.

So let’s unpack the research and see why mascots may just be your brand’s secret weapon for recall and recognition.

The Problem With Celebrity Endorsements

Marketers often bet big on celebrities. And on paper, it makes sense as it involves fame, credibility, and a built-in audience. But there's a catch.

According to IPSOS (2020), brand mascots are up to 6x more effective than celebrities when it comes to building long-term brand associations.

Why? Because celebrities aren’t exclusive. Cardi B appears in a Pepsi ad this month, then turn up in a Reebok campaign the next. Your brand becomes just another pitstop in their endorsement tour. Over time, their fame overshadows your distinctiveness. Compare that to Colonel Sanders, or the Geico Gecko, or Tony the Tiger. These characters don’t just show up, they live your brand.

Mascots Build Ownership. Celebs Borrow It.

What mascots do brilliantly is create psychological ownership. They’re yours, and yours alone. They become familiar friends that your audience learns to recognize instantly, across formats and over time. Just like how Coca-Cola’s polar bears or McDonald’s Happy Meal characters create associations that go beyond a transaction. Brand mascots aren't interchangeable, they embody the voice, values, and vibe of your brand. Celebrities? They might just be passing through.

More Than A Logo: The Real Reason Mascots Work

To understand why mascots outperform, we need to step back and look at what actually drives ad recall.

Distinctive Brand Assets (DBAs).

Mascots are one part of a bigger system of distinctive brand assets: visual, auditory, and experiential cues that instantly cue your brand without needing to show a logo. According to Jenni Romaniuk, a leading voice in brand salience, DBAs like colors, sounds, taglines, and yes, characters, form associative mental shortcuts. And these shortcuts are what make your brand top-of-mind when a consumer is ready to buy.

In fact, high-performing creatives feature distinctive brand assets 34% more often than low-performing ones (IPSOS, 2020).

The takeaway? A mascot isn’t just a cute add-on, it’s a cognitive tool that boosts brand saliency.

Examples That Say It All

Let’s look at two contrasting approaches:

• Post Malone x Bud Light: A celebrity collaboration that’s memorable but only as long as the star power remains fresh.

• Duolingo’s Owl: A character so distinctive it’s become a meme factory, pushing brand awareness without needing paid airtime.

Then there’s the classic:

• Pepsi’s revolving door of celeb endorsements vs.
• KFC’s Colonel Sanders, a timeless character embedded in the brand’s DNA.

Only one of those is instantly recognizable across decades, campaigns, and media formats.

Consistency Is Key

Mascots shine brightest when they’re used consistently. Just like a logo or a jingle, they need repeated exposure to build trust and mental availability. That’s how you get to the golden zone of brand recall. Inconsistent branding is a silent killer. Think of Tropicana’s 2009 packaging fail, where removing its iconic orange-and-straw image tanked sales by 20% in two months.

If you’re using a character, don’t treat it like a campaign gimmick. Let it grow with your brand. Invest in character development, visual style, tone of voice and make it part of your identity system.

How To Know If Your Mascot Is Working

Here’s a simple framework borrowed from the Distinctive Brand Asset Grid:

• Fame Score: Do people recognize the asset quickly as part of your brand?
• Uniqueness Score: Could it belong to someone else?

A great brand mascot scores high on both. Think: Ronald McDonald. Compare that to a forgettable influencer partnership and the difference is clear.

Want to test yours? Tools like junbi and expoze help evaluate visual assets in real time, like where to place your character in an ad to ensure it gets noticed.

The Takeaway

If you want your brand to stick, stop chasing trends and start building something ownable. Mascots:

• Build emotional connection
• Enhance visual consistency
• Improve recall and recognition
• Create psychological ownership
• Deliver long-term ROI far beyond any single campaign

In a world obsessed with short-term performance, distinctive assets like mascots offer something rare: lasting impact. Think about this: Are you building a brand that’s remembered tomorrow or just renting attention today? Maybe it’s time to give that quirky character a permanent seat at the table.