Some of advertising’s most iconic brands—Mr. Peanut, Mr. Monopoly, and the Jolly Green giant—will either be shaving or growing out their facial hair this month to support the Movember Foundation. The group raises money and awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
The 55-foot gall Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth, Minnesota debuted a mustache on Movember 1. The statue boasts a four-foot-long, 15-pound stache, which would take the average man eight years to grow if he wanted one of similar length.
“We hope that the Green Giant’s new moustache inspires awareness around The Movember Foundation’s mission and men’s health issues,” said Jordan Greenberg, Vice President & General Manager, Green Giant.
Each week, the Green Giant logo will present a sleek new mustache through social media. The Green Giant has never had a mustache in his nearly 100-year history.
No Shave November has become very popular over the years, and the foundation is known for encouraging men to grow out a mustache during this time of year. The belief is that when men grow the facial hair, it spurs conversations about their health.
Elizabeth Phipps Drewett, director of corporate partnerships for the Movember Foundation, told Adweek: “We are all about getting the awareness out there to help men live a longer life, and a key part to that is making sure we have a really strong and well-rounded influence. That comes from trying to broker as many partnerships with inspiring, fun, noteworthy and well-known brands as possible, and this mascot opportunity was a really fun one that came to us.”
Mr. Monopoly, Dr. Watson (Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick) and Mr. Peanut are also joining the Movember campaign.
“Mr. Peanut, your WingNut, will have your back—and more importantly your front—in the fight against testicular cancer. We encourage everyone to join us at #SaveYourNuts to learn more,” Ashley Tople, Director of the brand build for Planters, told Adweek.
It might be strange to see some iconic characters sporting different facial hair than usual. What would Mr. Monopoly, for example, look like without any facial hair at all?
“I’m hoping for a mutton-stache, not as good as the moustache but still very upper class,” commented Facebook user Ben Jefferey on the official Monopoly page.
Some were perplexed by why Mr. Monopoly would alter his look, not realizing the connection to the Movember Foundation. The campaign is aimed at educating men about their health, and if it takes a bare-faced Monopoly man to help spread the word, then the foundation is doing its job.
