Planters Peanuts has put a temporary stop to their death of Mr. Peanut Super Bowl ad campaign while the world mourns thedeath of Kobe Bryant. The NBA legend, along with his 13-year old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers, were all killed when their helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California. In response to the accident, Planters has decided to reevaluate their Super Bowl strategy, which is only days away. You can read their statement below.
“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.”
Last week,Planters killed Mr. Peanut in a Super Bowl commercial. In the ad leading up to Sunday’s big game, Mr. Peanut was driving the Nutmobile with Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh when he had to swerve to avoid hitting an armadillo. The Nutmobile drove off of a mountain road and ejected the passengers, which ultimately found Mr. Peanut sacrificing his life to save Snipes and Walsh.
The ad quickly went viral with other brands going on social media to pay tribute to the late Mr. Peanut, which was perfect promotion for theSuper Bowlad campaign. Planters planned on airing the funeral during the third quarter of the game. However, after the tragic death ofKobe Bryantyesterday morning, Planters has put a stop to the campaign, including all online marketing for the foreseeable future. It’s not clear when or if the ads will continue the story of Mr. Peanut, but many assumed that he was going to live through the accident.
Mr. Peanut even found himself in theSaturday Night Livecold opening over the weekend, where it was revealed that he had gone to hell after sacrificing his life to save Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh. As it turns out, not even his heroic sacrifice earned him a place in heaven after he had accidentally killed too many school children with peanut allergies over the years. This is definitely not what Planters had in mind when they were creating the death of Mr. Peanut Super Bowl ad campaign.
Investigators are still trying to figure out exactly what went wrong inyesterday morning’s helicopter crash. Fog is suspected to have played a major role and it has been reported that the chopper was shown circling before it went down and killed all nine passengers. In an effort to get above the layer of fog, the helicopter was attempting a left turn at about 2,400 feet into the air, as guided by air traffic control. A preliminary report on the aircraft will be finished within the next ten days. The death of Mr. Peanut ad campaign news was originally reported byAdAge.
