Mr. Peanut is now Baby Nut. | Image courtesy of Planters
Plus, the Bumble Bee tuna price-fixing scandal ends in an acquisition, and more news to start your day
The most memorable Super Bowl commercial was also the worst
“Silent nut. Holy nut” indeed. Planters mascot Mr. Peanut, who was killed off in one of the most blatantly virality-aspiring brand stunts in recent memory, was reborn as a top hat-sporting baby peanut on Super Bowl Sunday thanks to the magic of Kool-Aid Man’s tears at Mr. Peanut the Elder’s funeral.
Hello world, I’m happy to be back! I can’t believe everyone came together for little old me! #BabyNut pic.twitter.com/8DpCFjZzX3
— Baby Nut (@MrPeanut) February 3, 2020
Almost certainly an answer to the phenomenon of Baby Yoda, the reincarnated legume known as Baby Nut is small, round, and calculatedly “cute” in a way that is tailor-made for merch (which — surprise, surprise — Planters has in stock and ready to go). The rollout of Mr. Peanut’s new body was met with not only greetings from other brands, but also memes from accounts that Insider reports had been created before February, suggesting they were part of the ad campaign — a move that would violate Twitter’s rules against spam and platform manipulation. (As of press time, some of the accounts have been suspended.)
But Planters’ milquetoast memes will never live up to the narrative that the internet actually wants to see: Baby Nut destroyed and ground into peanut butter. He is risen, but Twitter prays for him to roast in hell.
i would crush baby nut into peanut butter for baby yoda https://t.co/lDT0NJkgBt
— jules (@webshootrs) February 3, 2020
And in other news…
- After bankruptcy and years of legal trouble rooted in a canned tuna price-fixing conspiracy, Bumble Bee Foods has been acquired by a Taiwanese company for $928 million. [San Diego Union-Tribune]
- Empty malls are gaining new life as a place for ghost kitchens. [WSJ]
- A giant Reese’s Take 5 has set the Guinness World Record for the largest chocolate nut bar, just two weeks after Snickers earned that title. [Food & Wine]
- “Is Canada the New Napa?” The U.S.’s northern neighbor is apparently gaining more attention for its wine. [Town & Country]
- A viral claim that soy burgers would make men grow breasts — which is not true — plays into preexisting beliefs about masculinity and meat. [The Atlantic]
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