Ad assignment where we needed to design a mascot for a brand that did not have a mascot. I chose to do Smarties chocolates. Since Smarties are marketed towards children I designed a fun, cute ,cool and energetic ninja duo.

Earlier concept art of the Smarties mascots :

FINAL CHOICE

Full description of these two:

Product: Nestle's Chocolate colorful snack called “ Smarties” Mascot pitch.

Why is a mascot needed?

There hasn't been a mascot at all for smarties but it has went through many characters in the years. Many cartoon characters as well in some of it's commercials to a silly blue cat with a funny voice. Though they have went through many characters and even using real life actors in their ads around some parts of the world.

People have had their own way of portraying Smarties in with the same concept “fun , be creative,exciting, happy,health wise,nostalgia,for the kids”. But there has never been a fixed face for Smarties. Since it is directed towards kids I believe there should be a cartoon characters that identify with the children. Encourage them to be creative, ask them if they eat the red ones last or first?

A silly looking, cute fixed simple designed cartoon character is just what Smarties needs for the kids to add to thier feeling of nostalgia as well. They will remember a face to the brand and enjoy little adventures the characters will go on every commercial. I think by having the same face kids will recognize , it will help bring younger and older kids into being excited for the next Smarties commercials. Leaving the kids with the thought of “What will the little characters do next?” in the next magazine cover or commercial.

How will this Mascot improve the brand?

There will be two Mascots. One a girl and one a boy. The girl's name is Cocoa and the boy's name is Choco. Their colorful outfits match each other and there is clearly no difference about them at all but the obvious eye lashes and the round “buns” that poke up in Cocoa's ninja hood. Their color palette are the same as the smartie colors. Yet very cool looking ninjas. They'e very active and always on the go but are clearly kids themselves. They act like kids too. They are clearly not human at all so they don't have skin normal skin color.

Children can identify with with these characters around the world where Nestle sells Smarties. Children really enjoy cartoon characters and If they have faces that they remember connected to the brand it will help leave room for more creativity in ads and commercials. It is very fun for Kids to watch ads with cartoons in them it will grab their attention and maybe the attention of older kids as well.I feel with something that will create nostalgia among children such as cartoon characters it will help improve this brand.

What are other companies and products in this industry doing?

There are not other Mascots in this industry. Nestle hasn't had any for their other candy brands either.(such as coffee crisp and kit kat etc.) So Smarties which is a candy that's targeted towards kids, I believe this will help them gain more attention and create more games surrounding these characters on their website. The cartoon characters will really stand out among children the most.

In what magazine (s) will this be featured in?

YES MAG:Science Magazine for adventurous minds,WILD,Kayak(canada's history magazine),Know,

ChicaDEE and OWL.