Since the dawn of advertising, mascots have been used to sell things.
In Michigan, there are beloved totems of sports teams, beverages, restaurant brands and more that have become part of the culture. Some date back decades, while others are just starting to get a little time in the limelight.
From gnomes to Noids, here’s a look at some of our area’s most beloved brand ambassadors.
Vernors – Woody the Gnome
One of the city’s oldest brands, Vernors Ginger Ale was created in the 1860s by pharmacist James Vernor. It’s owned by Dr. Pepper Snapple today, but it’s still used by locals as a sweet, fizzy cure for any ailment. The pop’s mascot is an impish, bearded gnome who looks like he’s straight out of a European fairy tale. His name is Woody, but was briefly referred to as Jerome for a short time. Woody has appeared in Vernors advertising throughout much of the 20th century; he dipped out in the late 1980s but has since returned.
National Coney Island – Mr. Pop
The cartoon Greek chef proudly holding a coney dog in the air for this longstanding local brand is Mr. Pop. Once upon a time he was referred to as his full name, Mr. Papadopoulos, but the company decided to streamline to make it easier for kids to say his name. He’s gone from being a feature on the kids’ menus to having his own spin-off restaurant, Pop’s Hani Shop, a fast-casual concept from National Coney Island that opened on Woodward in Royal Oak earlier this year. “For years it was just a two-dimensional thing that we had on our letterhead and our menus and our signs, and that was the extent of it, and then there was an effort to breathe new life into it,” said National Coney Island President Tom Giftos, whose father started the restaurant brand in the 1960s. “We started to use him a lot more in different promotional materials, and then at some point someone suggested getting the actual mascot costume made, which was a great suggestion because, yes, it really kind of brought him to life.”
Big Boy
Headquartered in Southfield, Big Boy has restaurants throughout the United States and Asia. Besides being known for as a family friendly place for burgers, pies and Slim Jim sandwiches, Big Boy is synonymous with its cherubic child, often depicted on signage or as a large statue in front of the restaurant. According to the New York Times, the inspiration for the Big Boy is said to be a young customer, Richard Woodruff of Glendale, California, who came into the restaurant in the 1930s. The Big Boy logo has been tweaked and updated throughout the decades, but has largely been a small boy with a black pompadour wearing red and white checkered overalls.
Tubby’s Sub Shop – Ricky
Founded in 1968 in St. Clair Shores, Tubby’s has around 70 locations in Michigan selling grilled and cold submarine sandwiches, soups, salads and more. The company’s mascot is a little boy, often shown wearing a sailor outfit, named Ricky, after Tubby’s founder Richard Paganes. Director of operations Sue Marchewka has worked for the sub brand for more than 40 years, and has chaperoned the costumed mascot to everything from store openings to fishing derbies. She said the mascot was used to attract younger people to the brand back in the day, but was recently brought back to the restaurant’s sub wrappers, bags and cups for Tubby’s 50th anniversary.
Creem Magazine – Boy Howdy
Moving away from food, Boy Howdy is the cartoon milk jug representing Creem Magazine, a rock music publication founded in Detroit in 1969 (it was relaunched in 2022 by JJ Kramer, founder Barry Kramer’s son). Drawn by counter culture cartoonist R. Crumb, Boy Howdy is what most people think of when the influential magazine’s name comes up, but Crumb also created Mister Dream Whip, the precursor to Boy Howdy, which was a anthropomorphic can of whipped cream with gloved hands.
Halo Burger
Another burger mascot without a name, the Halo Burger cow has been used on signage since the 1960s, and in 2016 also got a mascot costume so she can make appearances at stores as the brand continued to grow. Headquartered in Flint, Halo Burger will celebrate 100 years in 2023. (It started in 1923 as the original Kewpee Burgers location.) To celebrate the centennial, Halo Burger launched a scholarship contest with Mott Community College students to design a new billboard for the anniversary. The $1,000 scholarship went to Flint student Joseph Buffington for his design. More celebratory promotions are expected to roll out as the year goes on.
Domino’s Pizza – The Noid
What’s a pizza company without a whacky, smiling cartoon figure imploring you to pick up the phone (or download an app) and order a pie? In Metro Detroit, most pizza mascots are simple. You’ve got Jet Man with his jetpack for Jet’s Pizza, cowlicked blonde boy Howie for Hungry Howie’s and Little Caesar and his toga for, yep, Little Caesars.Then there’s Domino’s the Noid, a Claymation red guy used by the company in the 1980s and ’90s, briefly in the 2010s and again in 2021 to promote the company’s driverless delivery vehicles. He was hugely popular and sparked a line of toys and apparel, and he’s even etched in skin as tattoos. In 1989, a man named Kenneth Lamar Noid held two Domino’s Pizza employees hostage at a Georgia location and reportedly felt he was being targeted by the company with their “Noid” ad campaign. Noid was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault and theft by extortion but found not guilty by reason of insanity. He died by suicide in 1995.
Michigan sports teams
These mascots are easy to name and probably the biggest celebrities. Currently, the Detroit Tigers have Paws, a tiger, and Roary, a lion, represents the Detroit Lions, of course. The Detroit Pistons have Hooper, a horse, who made his debut in 1996 after the short-lived Sir Slam-A-Lot. Did you know Hooper, who attends more than 300 events a year outside of game days, has a love for the air? He’s been skydiving more than a dozen times, has tested and joined the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions of the United States Army and holds the world record for most under-the-leg dunks in a row. The Detroit Red Wings’ guy is Al the Octopus now, and before him the team had a 1980s-era bird mascot called Winger. The best-known Michigan college sports mascots are Michigan State University’s Sparty, and Biff, the Wolverine from University of Michigan.
mbaetens@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @melodybaetens