Pip & Nut's ad wins over fans... and a squirrel

Pip & Nut’s simple but amusing ad featuring a besotted red squirrel has defied overthinking brands.

Led by Pip & Nut's in-house creative team and Ali Dickinson, and produced by Scary Robots, the work depicts the brand’s mascot’s love of the legume in vivid and memorable style.

The ad follows the squirrel’s absurdly affectionate moment of bliss when spotting Pip & Nut’s peanut butter, with the brand’s obsession with its own product becoming the joke and the selling point at the same time.

The execution builds on fans’ obsession with the previously elusive - now fully realised - squirrel.

The ad works because it understands that small brands often win people over by deepening their relationship to its owned asset.

The Linkedin post accompanying the ad is clearly aware of this: “Making an ad is huge,” it reads (and we agree). “There are lots of seconds to scrutinise, lots of cash on the line and a bigger audience than ever. Luckily, we had a good starting point: the squirrel. From the get-go, we wanted our ad to leap further into the world of our loveable mascot. The goal? To show you the story behind the static - a playful reminder that obsession spreads.

“That’s where creative mastermind, director Ali Dickinson, & production whizzes, Scary Robots came in. Briefed with stories of our nut butter lovers (handwritten poems, suitcase stashing and jar tattoos), they helped us bring that well-known Pip & Nut obsession to life. And Squadron Venture Media has helped us get it onto your screen.”

Mas-appeal

Brand mascots are having a moment right now, in what feels like a full-scale corporate therapy session.

After years of companies trying to look sleek and minimal while playing it cool, everyone seems to have remembered that the fastest way into culture is often through nostalgia, and ideally a slightly unhinged brand character.

There’s a self-awareness to it all, of course. 

Alpen’s Ralph shows what happens when a cereal brand decides to have a midlife crisis in a dressing gown; Reddit’s Snoo gave the platform a friendly face during dark online times, while Cornflakes and Kraft Heinz embraced ‘kids’ TV morning show’ kind of vibes with their respective mascot overkill.

While undoubtedly cute, this brand tactic is deceptively pointed. Mascots provide a way to be remembered, talked about and show a brand’s calculated ability to throw dignity to the wind.