Once Upon a Brand: The Enduring Power of Children’s Characters in Advertising

From Raymond Briggs’ Snowman drifting over Glasgow, tanked up on Irn-Bru, to Judith Kerr’s Mog crashing about Sainsbury’s kitchen, and Paddington politely saving Christmas for M&S, storybook characters keep finding new lives thanks to advertising.

This is particularly the case at Christmas, when agencies or brands in want of a heart-tugging Christmas ad, will often reach for a children’s character as a creative route. After all, they provide a familiar charm. What's not to like?

Retailers are particularly susceptible to this. For example M&S partnered with Paddington Bear, written by Michael Bond, in 2017 for its Christmas campaign created by Grey. 'Paddington and the Christmas Visitor' spot benefited from additional hype given the release of the film Paddington 2 at the same time.

Similarly, Sainsbury's has played up to its family credentials with tie-ups with Judith Kerr's Mog the cat for 'Mog's Christmas Calamity, created by AMV BBDO, in 2015.

And last year, this time through New Commercial Arts, it partnered with Roald Dahl's much-loved Big Friendly Giant for its 'Sainsbury's BIG Christmas' extravaganza. And he'll be doing the same this Christmas as well.

And the trend continues with Dr Suess' The Grinch fronting both ASDA and McDonald's yuletide ads, while Puss in Boots and other fairytale favourites lead Boots' Christmas ad, and the BFG returns for a second year with Sainsbury's.

While not licensing a brand character, Aldi also paid homage to Dahl with a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-themed spot for its 2023 Christmas campaign, featuring Kevin the Carrot. Created by McCann UK, it featured Kevin paying a visit to ‘William Conker’s’ magical factory.

To some this was a surprise choice of author to parody - 10 years earlier, Aldi had removed his book Revolting Rhymes from its Australian shelves due to a complaint from a customer regarding the use of the word "slut", provoking a social media uproar.

It's easy to see why retailers feel children's book characters are safe territory - they’re comforting, familiar, and capable of uniting generations in a single frame.

But behind the warm glow lies a harder question: do these borrowed heroes build lasting brand equity, or are they just easy nostalgia?

You'd probably have to be of certain vintage to remember Enid Blyton's The Famous Five books, first published in 1942 and distinctly archaic, with characters called Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin (and Timmy the dog).

Nonetheless, adam&eveDDB have been using these characters in its advertising for GWR - albeit with a slightly more diverse characters than Julian, Dick, Anne and George - since 2020.

In their most recent outing, (the fifth in the series) the heroes, who are shown in period 1940s garb, return a ring to a lesbian couple - a plot twist it's unlikely that Blyton would have considered.

Equally cheeky was Irn-Bru’s parody of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman, created by Leith, which pokes fun at this festive TV stalwart.

When the ad premiered in Glasgow, the Scottish drinks company - famed for its irreverent advertising - gave away snowman-making kits, a carrot and an Irn-Bru scarf.

Elsewhere Specsavers - a brand also known for its wry advertising - mined the nation’s affection for John Cunliffe’s Postman Pat, turning his foibles into “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” punchlines.

The spectacles retailer also joined Persil in turning to Roger Hargreaves' popular Mr Men characters in one campaign:

Advertisers clearly love raiding the nation’s nursery bookshelf - and with good reason.

Beloved characters bring with them cultural familiarity: nostalgia, innocence, intergenerational recognition, and an emotional shorthand that it would take a new brand mascot years (and millions of pounds) to establish. For CMOs in search of instant impact, few creative devices are more efficient.

System1 describes them as "Hired Devices" - and says that "if it’s a character the audience loves it’s a very direct route to entertaining, emotional work."

Children’s characters offer marketers three clear advantages. First, familiarity: audiences know immediately who they are and what they stand for. Second, trust: these are figures wrapped in wholesomeness, usually beyond reproach. And third, emotional firepower: they evoke warm memories of bedtime stories, childhood rituals, and parental bonds.

Why else would R White's meddle with its acclaimed 'Secret Lemonade Drinker' ad by inserting a surprise appearance of Mr. Benn - the mild-mannered shopkeeper created by David McKee for his series of children's books?

But the sugar rush can come with a crash. Nostalgia, when over-indulged, sometimes curdles into cliché. There’s a danger that brands leaning too heavily on borrowed characters appear backward-looking, creatively timid, or - worse - infantilising

There are also practical issues. Licensing estates guard their IP ferociously and the costs - both financial and creative - can be formidable. Characters come with rules.

For example, Paddington must remain polite, Postman Pat must still deliver (mostly), the Famous Five must continue to solve mysteries in perpetually sunny Dorset. Any deviation risks both legal reprimand and public backlash. It's rare that this genre can be subverted.

And let’s not forget the younger cohorts. Gen Z didn’t necessarily grow up with Enid Blyton or Judith Kerr, and a cultural reference that soothes one generation may fall flat with another. The very innocence that makes characters appealing to parents can strike younger audiences as twee, dated, or irrelevant.

So what should marketers consider before signing off on the storybook strategy? Three things.

• Authenticity: does the character’s world genuinely align with the brand’s?

• Distinctiveness: will the execution cut through, or is it just another animated furry at Christmas?

• And longevity: is this a one-shot nostalgia hit, or the beginning of a credible brand platform?

Children’s characters can, at their best (as in the examples above), elevate advertising into modern fables that delight audiences and burnish brands. At their worst, they’re an expensive crutch that makes marketers look like they’ve run out of ideas.

The lesson of this particular story? Handle with care - and love. Whilst they can undoubtedly be charming and heartwarming and effective (and few doubt there'll be more examples of 'Hired Devices' this Christmas), no brand wants to be cast as the bogeyman in somebody else’s bedtime story. But done well, the can be advertising's equivalent of a warm hug.