Character logos and mascots from the 1930s through the 1940s, and even those used later in the 1950s and 1960’s we’re often employed in the marketing of different brands and their products. From the Michelin Man to Tony the Tiger, these characters helped build brand recognition, and were images that served to evoke emotions for the viewer, and connect in a more meaningful way than simple typography or photography ever could. While this technique was heavily favored during these periods, it started to lose popularity in the 1970s, and up until a more recent resurgence in retro and nostalgic branding, has been a relatively unpopular branding technique employed by small businesses.
We’ve certainly seen a huge resurgence in demand for retro branding, and especially retro branding employing characters and mascots for small businesses at our small business advertising agency. We firmly believe in this style of branding and vintage logo design – especially branding that employs characters – which are used to serve as the foundation for a small business brand campaign. The feeling these characters help evoke, and the sense of nostalgia they connote is one that resonates with many viewers across a broad demographic spectrum. These logos instill trust in the brand, they portray longevity – even if the brand is new. And they make the business appear reputable. But more importantly – they create memorable brands.
Making a memorable brand for a small business is challenging. They don’t have the money that large businesses have to invest in creating brand awareness. So, the small business needs to make sure their image stands out in a meaningful way, and leaves a lasting impression. Character based logos tend to do that – because the viewer connects to the brand in a more meaningful way than other branding techniques. And the fact that this type of branding and vintage logo design is still relatively unpopular is all the more reason why it works so well; it’s unexpected, it appears fresh – and the viewer probably hasn’t seen it before.
Below are a few examples of some of our favorite character logo design samples, and mascot logo design samples.