Planters Pauses Promotion of Mr. Peanut's Super Bowl Funeral After Kobe Bryant Dies

By Nat Ives 

Kraft Heinz Co.'s Planters brand apologized for distributing prayer candles for Mr. Peanut as part of its Super Bowl campaign about the mascot's death and said it would consider what's next after a helicopter crash killed Kobe Bryant.

Other Super Bowl advertisers adjusted their plans to publicize their expensive ads after the NBA star's death, which set off a wave of mourning among fans and tributes from brands that worked with him. Some marketers delayed the release of their Super Bowl ads from Monday to later in the week.

Procter & Gamble Co.'s Olay and PepsiCo Inc.'s MTN DEW Zero Sugar delayed the release of their Super Bowl ads, which had been expected on Monday, for example.

But Planters' stunt, which seemed to generate the most attention of any Super Bowl campaign so far this year, was also the one most destabilized by the tragedy.

Planters last week released a commercial in which Mr. Peanut meets a fiery death saving the lives of actors Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh. It said that ad would run during pregame coverage of the Super Bowl on Sunday, followed by an in-game spot depicting the 104-year-old mascot's funeral.

The Planters website on Monday afternoon featured a somber-looking tribute to its mascot. "In Memory of Mr. Peanut," it read.

Killing off a well-known mascot is a good way for a brand to stand out among a crop of Super Bowl advertisers all striving for attention. Last year, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA killed its Bud Knight character during a Super Bowl ad, although it brought him back to life months later.

The prayer candles were mailed before Mr. Bryant's death, a spokesman for Planters said. "We deeply regret any offense or upset caused by this coincidental timing."

"We wanted you to know that 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," the spokesman said.

Asked whether Planters might not show its death-themed ads on Sunday at all, the spokesman said the brand hasn't made any changes to those plans. The pause right now affects only paid advertising on platforms like Twitter and YouTube as well as some other outreach in the immediate wake of Mr. Bryant's death, he said.

Write to Nat Ives at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2020 14:17 ET (19:17 GMT)

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