Sometimes, the competitive world of product mascots can be more like a clique-y high school than part of a clever marketing campaign. There’s the cool jock, Chester Cheetah; the preppy rich boy, Charlie Tuna; and the class clown, the Pillsbury Doughboy. But who loves the not-so-popular ones – the outcasts and the geeks of the mascot world? James Lileks at Lileks.com does, and he wants others to, as well. As part of his Institute of Official Cheer, Lileks created a small, virtual library of failed mascots that once graced the pages of newspapers and magazines. The Orphanage of Cast-Off Mascots is filled with the eager smiles of mascots like Plywood Pete, Kraut King, and Comfy and Minty, the Mentholatum twins. It may be difficult to love some of these characters, like Pal, the Shaving Boy with razor-blade arms, but these mascots simply want something to promote again, pleads Lileks, who encourages Web site owners to download the images and give these forgotten characters another chance.
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