A noted American aviation pioneer. Born on this day in 1897, she was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937 while attempting an around-the-world flight.
A fictional half-Vulcan character in the Star Trek media franchise. He served as the science officer/first officer and commanding officer of the USS Enterprise. He was first portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series.
A fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. Captain Kirk was born and raised in Riverside, Iowa in the year 2233. He was the youngest individual to become a Starfleet captain and served as the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise. He was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series.
An American aviator and former NASA astronaut best known as the first person to set foot on the Moon. The first Moon walk occurred exactly 42 years ago today. Armstrong served as commander of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing mission, which fulfilled U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s goal of reaching the Moon before the Soviet Union by the end of the 1960s.
A Hong Kong American actor, martial arts instructor and founder of the Jeet Kune Do movement. He is widely considered the most influential martial artist, and a cultural icon. While doing work for the movie Enter the Dragon, he suffered a cerebral edema. Two months later, on this day in 1973, he died at age 32 from a mysterious allergic reaction to medication.
In addition to being a derogatory term traditionally associated with African Americans, Rastus is also the name of the Cream of Wheat cereal mascot. The character first appeared in 1893 and is reportedly based on a photograph of Chicago chef Frank L. White. Over 100 years later, his face still appears on the cereal box.
The first President of South Africa to be elected in a fully representative, multi-racial democratic election. Before his presidency, he was an anti-apartheid activist who served 27 years in prison and peacefully negotiated the termination of legal racial segregation in South Africa. He is 93 years old today (born in 1918) and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
P.S. “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” – Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Uncle Ben’s rice was first marketed in 1943 and was the top-selling rice in the U.S. from 1950 until the 1990s. In March 2007, after 61 years as a domestic servant/maitre d’hotel, the image of Uncle Ben was “promoted” to chairman by a new advertising campaign designed to distance the brand from its iconography depicting a servant in the Aunt Jemima tradition.
Aunt Jemima was a prominent character in minstrel shows in the late 19th century who was commercially appropriated to market pancake mix in late 1889. She was meant to embody the idealized domesticity of old Southern hospitality. In 1926, the Quaker Oats Company bought the brand and later attempted to minimize its expression of the “mammy” archetype.
The Noid was a villainous advertising character for Domino’s Pizza created in 1986 by Group 243 advertising agency. This red-suited character attempted to ruin Domino’s pizza but was constantly thwarted. Commercials that featured the character used the slogan “Avoid the Noid.” Domino’s was founded in 1960 and is the second-largest pizza chain in the U.S.
Little Caesars pizza chain was founded in 1959 with Little Caesar, a diminutive toga-clad Roman wearing sandals and a laurel wreath, as its corporate mascot. It is the fourth-largest pizza chain (after Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s). The franchise name is an allusion to Julius Caesar, former ruler of the Roman Empire.
“Colonel” Sanders was an iconic American entrepreneur who first served his fried chicken at a gas station in 1930. In 1952, he founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken company, now re-branded as KFC. Despite his death in 1980, Sanders remains a key symbol of the company in its advertising and branding. My dad always referred to him as “Colonel Chicken.”
The Big Boy restaurant chain (including Bob’s Big Boy) started in 1936 and is best known for its trademark chubby boy in checkered overalls. The inspiration for Big Boy’s name, as well as the model for its mascot, was six-year-old Richard Woodruff. After Warner Bros. animation artist Ben Washam sketched the boy’s caricature, he became part of the company identity.
Happy Star is the mascot of American fast-food restaurant chain Carl’s Jr. and its sibling chain Hardee’s. When combined with Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr. is the #4 US fast-food chain in size after McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s. The twin star logos are unstoppable!
Jack is the mascot of American restaurant chain Jack in the Box. In advertisements, he is portrayed as the founder, CEO and ad spokesman for the chain. The character made his first appearance in 1993.
Wendy is the daughter and fourth child of American businessman Dave Thomas, the founder of the Wendy’s restaurant franchise. She is known for being its namesake and mascot. Her likeness has been used as the Wendy’s logo, in the form of a young girl with red braids, since the company’s founding in 1969.
The King is the advertising mascot for the Burger King fast-food restaurant franchise. The first cartoon iteration of this character was created in 1955. The current extra-creepy/brilliant “Wake Up with the King” costumed mascot was introduced in 2003.
A clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant chain. He first appeared in 1963. The next two weeks at Mascot Mashup will be dedicated to creating 8-bit versions of some popular food advertising icons and corporate trade characters.
A Mexican painter born on this day in 1907. She claimed her birth date was July 7, 1910 because she allegedly wanted the year of her birth to coincide with the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. She is best known for her self-portraits and married fellow Mexican painter Diego Rivera.
The Man of Steel is a DC Comics superhero and icon of American culture who was created in 1932. He was born on the planet Krypton, before being rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist father. After being discovered and adopted by a Kansas farmer and his wife, he was raised as Clark Kent.
