List of Australian and New Zealand advertising characters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Many advertising characters used as mascots and characters by companies in Australia and New Zealand are similar to those used in the United States and the United Kingdom. There are, however, quite a number that are unique to these two nations.
Many advertisements shown on New Zealand television are made in Australia, and many Australian and New Zealand companies operate similar businesses on both sides of the Tasman Sea. As such, there is consideable overlap in advertising characters and mascots found in the two countries.
The following is a list of notable mascots and characters created specifically for advertising purposes in Australia and New Zealand, listed alphabetically by the product they represent.
| Product | Character | Years used | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASB Bank (NZ) | Ira Goldstein | 2000-present | |
| Bundaberg Rum (Aus) | Bundy Bear | 1980s on radio | |
| Campbell's Cash & Carry supermarkets (Aus) | Delilah | 1980s-1990s | |
| Chesdale Cheese (NZ) | Ches and Dale | 1960s-1980s | |
| Colgate Toothpaste (Aus & NZ) | Mrs Marsh | 1970s-1980s | |
| Cookie Time Cookies (NZ) | Cookie Muncher | at least the 1980s - present | |
| Creamoata (cereal, NZ) | Sergeant Dan | 1920s-1950s | |
| Eta margarine & peanut butter (Aus) | Rita the Eta Eater | 1970s-1980s | |
| Eta peanut butter (NZ) | Eta Nut 1001 | 1960s-1980s | |
| Expol Insulation (NZ) | Polly the Penguin | 2000s | |
| Four Square (grocery stores, NZ) | Mr. Four Square | since at least the 1960s | |
| Frosty Boy ice cream (Aus & NZ) | Frosty Boy | since at least the 1960s | |
| Griffins biscuits (NZ) | Cookie Bear | since at least the 1970s | |
| Home Hardware (Aus) | Rusty and Sandy | 1993-present | |
| Instant Kiwi (lottery scratch card, NZ) | Doug and Mexi-Doug | 2008-present | |
| Life. Be In It (health campaign, Aus) | Norm | 1975 | |
| Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works (Aus) | Wally | 1980s | |
| Mortein (insect spray, Aus) | Louie the Fly | 1957-present | also in New Zealand since the 1980s |
| Nestlé Milky Bar chocolate (Aus & NZ) | The Milky Bar Kid | 1969-1990s | "Live action" until 1980s, animated in 1990s |
| Nine Network Australia | The Smiling Dot | 1975 | Used during the "Living Color" campaign |
| NRMA insurance (Aus) | Wallace Fairweather | Mid-1990s | Radio in Victoria only |
| Palmolive dishwashing liquid (Aus & NZ) | Madge | 1971-1980s | |
| Pizza Hut delivery (Aus) | Dougie | 1994-early 2000s | |
| Sky Television (NZ) | Bert Badger | 2000s | |
| Slip-Slop-Slap (health campaign, Aus) | Sid the Seagull | Debuted 1981 | |
| Smith's Chips (Aus) | Gobbledok | late 1980s-early 1990s | |
| Super Cheap Auto (Aus) | Steve Lenda | 2003-present | Also used in NZ |
| Telecom New Zealand | Spot | 1990s | |
| Television New Zealand | The Goodnight Kiwi | 1981-1994 | |
| The Comedy Channel (Aus) | C'fer | c.1996-2003 | |
| Tiger Tea (NZ) | Tony the Tiger | 1950s-1970s | |
| Tip Top ice cream (NZ) | Moggy Man | 1960s | |
| Toyota Masterclass cars (NZ) | Ernie | c.2002-2007 | |
| Toyworld (Toy retailers) (Aus & NZ) | TW, The Toyworld Bear | since at least the 1980s | |
| Tuckerbag supermarkets (Aus) | Tucker Bag | 1980s | |
| www.sorted.org.nz (NZ) | Sorted Mouse | 2001-present | |
| Yellow Pages (Aus) | Jan | 2000-present | "Not happy, Jan!" led to 'Not happy John!' campaign |
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
