Super Bowl Commercials: Mr. Peanut Is Back!

I reported here last week that – in the wake of Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash a week ago – Mr. Peanut’s ‘Funeral’ commercial would not play as originally planned in the third quarter of the Super Bowl. The spokesnut died a similar death to Bryant, falling from a great height…

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But a ‘Mr. Peanut Funeral’ commercial did run during the Super Bowl:

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xMy question is, was the commercial that played the original ‘Funeral’ spot, or did Planters, unable to get a refund for the (US)$5 million they paid for the 3-second slot, pull out all the stops, and kick the production people into high gear, and create a spot they felt would be less disturbing to Kobe fans than the original?

I, for one, did not find the Planters commercial that ran yesterday evening offensive in any way – even after the ‘Death of Mr. Peanut’ commercial ran as planned during the pre-game show.

I think the whole to-do about cancelling the ‘Funeral’ commercial – which was brought about by an upwelling of social media chatter – may simply have given Planters a chance to capitalize on their plans for Mr. Peanut during the Super Bowl. It’s also occurred to me that the ad that ran was the original, and Planters let the whole social media outrage thing run its course, knowing the ‘Funeral’ ad was actually pretty upbeat and innocuous, and enjoying the extra, free promotion all the way.

However you see it, Mr. Peanut is back, and in this incarnation, he finally speaks!

~ Maggie J.