Planters Is Cutting The Super Bowl Marketing Campaign In Wake Of Kobe Bryant’s Passing
Last week, news broke that Planters' brand mascot Mr. Peanut had "died." This stunt was all a part of the company's upcoming Super Bowl advertising, but in light of Kobe Bryant's tragic passing, the brand has decided to put a halt their widespread marketing campaigns that show the fictional death and funeral of Mr. Peanut.
In the first teaser of the Planters ad for the big game, Mr. Peanut was riding in a car with actor Matt Walsh and director Wesley Snipes. When the car swerves off of a cliff, the three were hanging on to a tree before Mr. Peanut sacrificed himself and fell into the fiery car wreck.
Sports legend Kobe Bryant died in the flames of a helicopter crash on Sunday alongside eight other passengers. In the wake of this news, Planters is reassessing their Super Bowl marketing campaign.
The company said in an updated statement to Delish that the news of Kobe's passing caused them to take another look at their advertising process:
"We wanted you to know that we are saddened by this weekend’s news and Planters has paused campaign activities, including paid media, and will evaluate next steps through a lens of sensitivity to those impacted by this tragedy," a spokesperson for Planters said. "At this point, the pause impacts only paid advertising (on channels like Twitter and YouTube) running prior to Sunday, as well as some other outreach in the immediate wake of this tragedy. No change has been made to our plans for Super Bowl Sunday."
Planters is set to have one 30-second commercial spot air before the game in which Mr. Peanut is shown being ejected from the car. Then, during the third quarter, another 30-second slot is to show a funeral being held for Mr. Peanut. Although it was unclear if these commercials would still air, a spokesperson for Planters said that there are no plans to pause these ads although the marketing campaigns on platforms like Twitter and YouTube will be affected.
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