Planters has debuted yet another mascot named Peanut Jr., the grown-up version of Baby Nut—who originally appeared as a reincarnation of Mr. Peanut after the brand killed off Mr. Peanut in its 2020 Super Bowl ad—to launch a contest called #MakeMyBirthdayNuts. Now through August 24, Planters is giving people who celebrated or will celebrate their birthday in quarantine a chance to win $2,100 in cash.
In a 19-second video posted to his Twitter account, Peanut Jr. is shown handing his driver’s license to a bartender who confusedly asks:
“Wait, so you’re telling me you fell off a cliff, came back to life as a baby and now you’re 21?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s been a weird year,” Peanut Jr. responds.
Planters is giving three fans each $2,100 for sharing their dream birthday gift in 10 words or less on Twitter with the hashtags #MakeMyBirthdayNuts and #Sweepstakes and the @MrPeanut handle tagged. Planters is also giving away 200 prize packages that include branded merchandise.
The video, which has received 2.8 million views and 11,000 retweets in just a day, drew mixed reactions from Twitter. Users were quick to criticize Peanut Jr.’s birthday announcement for happening too soon after Baby Nut’s debut. One user said:
Another called Planters’ move “legitimately way too weird of a campaign.”
Others questioned Peanut Jr.’s decision to go to a bar in the middle of a pandemic.
In February, Planters ran a controversial Super Bowl ad showing its original mascot, the 104-year-old Mr. Peanut, sacrifice his life to save his commercial co-stars Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh. To date, the spot has over 7 million views on YouTube. Then, on Super Bowl day, the brand unveiled a new mascot: Baby Nut.
Peanut Jr.’s arrival comes on the heels of a strong Q2 for Planters’ parent company Kraft Heinz, which reported a 3.8 percent increase year-on-year in net sales to $6.6 billion. However, the company reported a net loss of $1.65 billion due to impairment charges, according to Kraft Heinz’s earnings report.
The company says 75 percent of new buyers since the pandemic started are buying products from its brands, including Planters, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Philadelphia, Ore-Ida and Capri Sun.
