The Top 10 Real-Life Branding Icons Of All Time

Like just about everything in marketing these days, truly successful branding — in which a visual identity, icon, tag line, or spokesperson (or oftentimes, all of the above) becomes synonymous with the brand being pitched to consumers, and the product or service being offered — is a challenging combination of art and science. This may be a trite statement which trivializes, and even oversimplifies, a very complex process which takes years to unfold, but marketers know deep down it's unequivocally true. And that makes experienced branding experts worth their weight in gold when trying to differentiate a consumer or business brand from those of competitors.

So which real-people branding icons (and we're just talking about actual persons here, not animated or animal characters) are the most popular of all time? In this interesting piece yesterday in Wallet Pop, Aol.'s consumer finance digest, the site outlines its top-10 list which includes some very recognizable icons...some of which have fallen by the wayside over the years, while others have been reinvented for today's savvy consumer:

1. Mr. Whipple; Brand: Charmin toilet paper.
2. The Marlboro Man; Brand: Marlboro cigarettes.
3. The Maytag Repairman; Brand: Maytag appliances.
4. Rosie the Waitress; Brand: Bounty paper towels.
5. Madge the Manicurist; Palmolive dish soap.
6. The "Where's The Beef?" Lady; Brand: Wendy's.
7. Mikey; Brand: Life Cereal.
8. Ernest P. Worrell; Brand: Numerous.
9. Joe Isuzu; Brand: Isuzu cars.
10. Josephine the Plumber; Brand: Comet cleanser.

Of course, if we were to expand this list to include animated or animal characters, then we'd be able to add such equally-recognizable icons as Mrs. Butterworth, the Michelin Man, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Geico gecko, the AFLAC duck, and countless others.

Interestingly enough, though, with the exception of Maytag, which conducted an attention-getting contest in 2007 to find a new individual to play an updated, 21st-century version of the Maytag repairman in its print and broadcast advertising efforts, most of the brands, including those mentioned above, have dropped or severely curtailed (such as Marlboro) the use of actor-based icons in their marketing programs in favor of other tactics. And that makes sense, as campaigns due tend to run their course and become stale after years of years of the same schtick.

My favorite from this list? The insufferable, but still lovable, Mr. Whipple....of course:

In 1999, Procter & Gamble relaunched its Mr. Whipple campaign for Charmin using actor Dick Wilson, who played Whipple for years, and passed away in 2007 at the age of 91. Here is his glorious return spot:

And what does Charmin use now to differentiate its brand? Those cuddly animated, but somewhat annoying, bears that are constantly showing us how inferior TP sticks to their posteriors.