1

Mr. Peanut

Image: Tom Hermans

As familiar as snacking on a handful of peanuts, Mr. Peanut is a beloved symbol for us all. Incredibly, despite being a successful and recognizable character, Mr. Peanut's design only cost $5!

That's right, Planters Company created a contest in 1916 to find the ideal mascot. And guess who won? A 14-year-old boy! Antonio Gentile received $5 in exchange for his cute peanut-bodied mascot, to which the top hat and monocle were later added. Not only is his appearance sophisticated, but his name is, too. Mr. Peanut's full name is Bartholomew Richard Fitzgerald-Smythe. Fancy, right?

2

Tony the Tiger

Image: Sten Ritterfeld

One of the most famous felines, Tony the Tiger , the mascot of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes cereal , first appeared in a TV commercial in 1952, more than 70 years ago!

Despite his age, Tony still embodies the ideas of strength and energy that the brand wants to associate with its delicious cereals.

His distinctive muscular body and unique red scarf around his neck make him one of the most recognizable characters for people of all ages. He is just gr-r-reat!

3

Energizer Bunny

Image: danilo.alvesd

We've all wished we had the incredible energy of the Energizer Bunny , right?

This cute, drum-beating mascot first appeared in a TV commercial in the late 1980s. Its characteristic endless energy symbolizes the power of the brand's batteries, summed up in its classic catchphrase, "It keeps going and going and going..."

Over time, this little pink bunny with sunglasses has gained worldwide fame and has become one of the most recognizable brand mascots.

4

Mr. Clean

Image: JESHOOTS.COM

We've already seen tigers, rabbits, and even peanuts with eyes; now it's the turn of a human-shaped mascot.

Mr. Clean is the legendary mascot of the Procter & Gamble cleaning product line, famous for his look and accessories. With his white eyebrows, classic earring, bald head, and white T-shirt, the beloved Mr. Clean is impossible to miss.

Created in 1958, this mascot has changed very little since his first appearance, making him even more iconic. If you're looking for a Halloween costume, you know who to imitate this year!

5

Ronald McDonald

Image: Brett Jordan

Ronald McDonald , the clown of the most famous fast food chain, has become a global star.

Over the decades, children around the world have excitedly lined up to see him, greet him, and take pictures with Ronald in McDonald's stores.

Created in 1963, Ronald looked a bit different than he does today. Ronald's appearance has evolved, with changes to his costume and makeup, making him more vibrant and approachable. But the magic of this character is still intact.

6

Pillsbury Doughboy

Image: Pablo Lancaster Jones

If we discuss cute mascots, we can't forget the Pillsbury Doughboy . This little man made of dough has been wearing a chef's hat and a scarf since his birth in 1965 when he first appeared in a TV commercial.

While his appearance has remained the same, his name has changed a few times. Originally called "Jonathan Pillsbury," his name was changed to "Poppin' Fresh" in the 1970s, though today we all know him as Pillsbury Doughboy.

His playful personality is captured in his classic catchphrase, "Hoo-hoo!"

7

The M&M’s Spokescandies

Image: Sebastian Gómez

Who can say "no" to a handful of delicious M&M's ? Definitely not us! And as if their great taste weren’t enough, M&M's also has a series of mascots with varied personalities that know how to win us over.

The original characters emerged in the 1950s, and there were only two mascots: the Plain (milk chocolate) and the Peanut characters. This evolved over time, and more characters were added, each with different colors and qualities.

Today, some of the most recognized are Red, Yellow, and Green .

8

Martin the GEICO Gecko

Image: Tate Lohmiller

The GEICO insurance company's Gecko is definitely one of the most famous brand mascots in the country.

Born in 1999, this little Gecko first appeared in a commercial in which he talked to the viewers, trying to convince them to choose GEICO. This appearance was so successful that the friendly and witty Gecko has remained the company's mascot to this day.

One of the peculiarities of this character is his distinctive British accent, which sets him apart from other talking mascots.

9

Kool-Aid Man

Image: Roksolana Zasiadko

If you were one of the many Kool-Aid fans as a child, you probably remember the charming and unique Kool-Aid Man fondly.

With his pitcher-shaped body filled with Kool-Aid, the character first appeared on the product's packaging in 1954. It wasn't until over 20 years later that he made his first TV commercial, always smiling and uttering his traditional catchphrase, "Oh yeah!"

The now classic character became very popular and even had cameos in famous animated TV series!

10

Chester Cheetah

Image: Ryan Quintal

If you love snacks, you've probably smeared your fingers with Cheetos crumbs at some point, right? We get it; these cheesy snacks are simply irresistible.

And if you've ever tasted Cheetos, you're likely familiar with the famous Chester Cheetah . With its cool look and relaxed attitude, Chester Cheetah was created in 1986. This feline appeared in TV commercials and on Cheetos packages, always enjoying the snack and never without his trademark sunglasses.

His fame grew to the point that in the '90s, Chester starred in a couple of video games!

1

Apollo 11 touched down with roughly 30 seconds of reserve fuel

As Eagle descended toward the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong looked out the window and realized the computer was guiding them straight into a field of car-sized boulders.

He took semi-manual control, tilting the module forward to search for a clearer patch of ground while Mission Control in Houston counted down the remaining fuel out loud . Sixty seconds. Then 30. Buzz Aldrin called out altitude and speed as dust kicked up by the engine made it nearly impossible to judge distance. Armstrong finally set Eagle down with somewhere between 20 and 25 seconds of fuel left before an automatic abort would have kicked in, a margin thinner than most people realize watching the calm broadcast years later.

2

The iconic lunar flag was an altered five-dollar store-bought banner

With less than three months before launch, NASA engineer Jack Kinzler was handed an unusual assignment: figure out how to make a flag look like it was flying on a world with no wind.

Kinzler, known around the Manned Spacecraft Center as Mr. Fix It, remembered watching his mother hang curtains as a child and sketched a horizontal rod that would run through the top of an ordinary nylon flag , letting it hang stiff instead of drooping.

3

Playtex seamstresses hand-stitched the Apollo spacesuits

In a former girdle factory in Dover, Delaware, women who had spent years sewing Playtex bras and girdles found themselves building the suit that would keep Neil Armstrong alive on the Moon.

NASA had tried stiff, engineered suits from aerospace contractors first, but nothing offered the mobility required for a human body. The International Latex Corporation, the company behind Playtex, won the contract instead, and its seamstresses stitched together 21 layers of nylon, Teflon-coated fabric, and rubber by hand, working to a tolerance of one 64th of an inch on ordinary Singer machines. No automated equipment could be trusted with a mistake that meant the difference between life and death in a vacuum, so the same hands that once sewed Cross Your Heart bras sewed history instead.

4

Ham the Astrochimp completed a suborbital flight in 1961

Three weeks of training at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico came down to one morning: January 31, 1961.

A three-and-a-half-year-old chimpanzee, known to engineers simply as Number 65, was strapped into a Mercury capsule atop a Redstone rocket that launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. His job was to pull levers in response to lights, proving an astronaut's mind could still function under the crushing forces of launch. A malfunction pushed the flight higher and faster than planned, reaching 157 miles and landing far off course in the Atlantic. He survived, tired and dehydrated but unharmed , and only afterward was given the name Ham, for the lab that trained him. Three months later, Alan Shepard became the first American in space.

5

Michael Collins became the most isolated person in human history

While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface, their crewmate Michael Collins circled overhead alone in the command module Columbia.

For roughly 47 minutes of every two-hour orbit, the entire body of the Moon passed between Columbia and Earth, cutting off every radio signal from Mission Control and from his two crewmates below. Flight commentator Charlie Duke described it on the air: "not since Adam has any human known such solitude." Collins later wrote that he never actually felt lonely during those blackout stretches, only quietly aware that he was, by any physical measure, the single most isolated human being who had ever lived, with three billion people on one side of the Moon and just himself on the other.

6

The Soviet Union made the first lunar impact in 1959

On September 12, 1959, a Soviet spacecraft the size of a large beach ball lifted off from Baikonur, deep in the Kazakh steppe. Two days later, Luna 2 slammed into the Moon near the craters Aristillus and Autolycus , becoming the first human-made object to ever touch another world.

Engineers in Moscow had built in a strange detail: the probe carried small metal pennants stamped with the hammer and sickle, meant to scatter across the lunar surface on impact. The timing stung in Washington. Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev arrived in the United States for a state visit just days later, carrying a replica pennant as a gift for President Eisenhower, a not-so-subtle reminder of who had reached the Moon first.

7

Apollo 11 concluded the initial Space Race

In May 1961, President John F. Kennedy stood before Congress and made a promise that sounded impossible: the U.S. would land a man on the Moon and bring him home safely before the decade was out.

Eight years, several deaths, and one nearly disastrous fire later, Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder of the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969 , and told millions watching on television that it was one small step for a man. Buzz Aldrin followed him down minutes later while Michael Collins orbited above in the command module. The landing settled a technological race that had begun with Sputnik in 1957, and for the United States, it closed the gap the Soviets had opened years earlier.

8

The lunar module was built without seats

Every extra pound sent to the Moon meant thousands of extra pounds of fuel needed to get it there, so NASA engineers stripped the lunar module Eagle down to its bare essentials, cutting anything that was not strictly necessary for survival.

One of the first things to go was seating. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin flew their roughly 60-mile descent to the lunar surface standing up , held in place by cables and foot restraints, much like subway commuters gripping a pole during rush hour. Standing also gave the astronauts a clearer view out the small triangular windows, which mattered enormously once Armstrong realized the automatic system was steering them toward a boulder field. The decision made purely for weight savings ended up helping save the landing itself.

9

Apollo 11 astronauts signed an official customs declaration upon return

After traveling nearly half a million miles round trip, the crew of Apollo 11 still had one more piece of paperwork waiting for them back on Earth.

On July 24, 1969, the day their capsule splashed down in the Pacific near Hawaii, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins signed a standard United States Customs form filed at Honolulu Airport. Under departure point, the document read simply Moon. Arrival was listed as Honolulu, Hawaii. In the cargo section, the astronauts declared moon rock and moon dust samples, treating a piece of another world the same way any traveler might declare a bottle of duty-free perfume. The form even asked about any condition on board that could spread disease, and the honest answer at the time was simply to be determined.

10

Apollo 8 astronauts captured the "Earthrise" photograph

On Christmas Eve of 1968, astronaut Bill Anders was aiming his camera at the gray, cratered surface below when something in the window caught his eye. Earth, blue and impossibly small, was rising over the lunar horizon.

Anders, Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell had just become the first humans to orbit the Moon, and none of NASA's flight plans had accounted for this moment. Anders grabbed a color film magazine and fired off the shot in a matter of seconds, later admitting the photo was never on the schedule. Back on Earth, the image ran in newspapers worldwide and is widely credited with helping launch the modern environmental movement, giving people their first real look at how fragile and alone their home planet truly is.

1

"I don't want to grow up"- Toys 'R' Us

Image: Liao Je Wei

No kid on Earth doesn't love toys, and Toys 'R' Us knew this too well. Their unforgettable commercial, "I Don't Want to Grow Up, I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid," is proof of that. Remember it? Of course, you do!

Launched in the 1980s, this ad was a hit. The kids' voices repeatedly stating, "I don't want to grow up," immediately brings the brand's name to mind. In addition to the catchy line, the commercial also showcased a wide variety of toys available in stores, which are—of course—the reason why kids never want to grow up!

2

"Give me a break"- Kit Kat

Image: Abi Schreider

Kit Kat has successfully tied itself to the joy of taking a break , thanks in large part to its iconic jingle: "Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!" Feeling like dancing?

We're sure you've caught yourself singing this line more than once in everyday life. The infectious tune has lived rent-free in our minds since the ‘80s when the commercial first debuted. In it, chefs, firefighters, builders, office workers, and people from all walks of life—including children—hold up a Kit Kat bar, smiling and dancing as they politely ask for their well-deserved break.

3

"Plop plop fizz fizz"- Alka-Seltzer

Image: Ksenia

For a jingle to stand out, it needs to be both consistent and effective . And Alka-Seltzer's most famous jingle nailed it perfectly.

"Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!" is the catchy jingle that hit the radio in 1953. With two simple words, it shows us how to use the product: "Plop" (drop the tablet into a glass of water), "fizz" (watch it dissolve), and then, relief!

Later adapted for TV, the commercial featured Alka-Seltzer's mascot, Speedy , who explained the product's benefit: "Those speedy bubbles relieve your upset stomach and headache fast! For acid indigestion alone, Alka-Seltzer Gold."

4

"Sometimes you feel like a nut"- Almond Joy and Mounds

Image: Jessica Loaiza

As brands offer a variety of products, they often look for unique ways to differentiate each one, creating distinct commercials to highlight the essence of each product. But Almond Joy and Mounds, produced by the same company, did the opposite: they were united in the same commercial.

"Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. Almond Joy's got nuts, Mounds don't." Not only is it funny and catchy, but it's also crystal clear: although the bars look similar, there’s one key difference. Yep, the nuts ! So, which one is your favorite?

5

"Mmm Mmm Good" – Campbell's Soup

Image: Kelly Common

Sometimes, the simplest approach is the most effective, right? And that was demonstrated by Campbell's when it launched its famous jingle "Mmm Mmm Good." You've probably heard it!

What's the expression you use when you taste something that's delicious? That's right: Mmm! The canned soup brand exploited this universal expression to the fullest by adding it to its commercials and consistently evoking a cozy, homey vibe. By doing so, they connected the product with the kind of food we all prefer: homemade .

6

"My Bologna Has a First Name"- Oscar Mayer

Image: Aneta Voborilova

Almost everyone knows how to spell " bologna ," and that's largely thanks to Oscar Mayer's catchy 1973 jingle. Remember that one?

In the famous commercial, a young boy sings, "My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R/ My bologna has a second name, it's M-A-Y-E-R/ Oh, I love to eat it every day, and if you ask me why, I'll say/ 'Cause Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A." The catchy tune and playful lyrics became a cultural phenomenon, making the brand name synonymous with the product. It was a highly effective marketing tactic!

Kids and adults alike couldn't stop spelling out this fun jingle, which still plays in our minds to this day.

7

"Meow, meow, meow, meow…"- Meow Mix

Image: Matheus Queiroz

Sometimes, we wish our pets could talk to us. It's a fantasy explored by many cartoons and some famous movies. But if your cat could talk, what would it ask for as its favorite meal? Hard to guess, right? Meow Mix, the cat food company, decided to give us an answer.

In its 1970s commercial, a kitten "sings" the catchy jingle, "Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow," while the visuals clearly show that the cat is asking for Meow Mix's delicious food. Associating the very sound of the animal with the brand name was a very clever move!

8

"Like a Good Neighbor"- State Farm

Image: Tierra Mallorca

You know a jingle is good when it's been around for decades , and that's the case with the iconic "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there" from the well-known insurance company.

The jingle was written in 1971, and since then, it has become one of the most recognized jingles in commercial history.

Sung warmly and softly, the jingle conveys the idea that the insurance company will always be there for the customers, whatever they need, providing a sense of security and reliability.

9

"I'm A Big Kid Now"- Huggies Pull-Ups

Image: Jimmy Conover

Cuteness is a great way to connect with an audience, and Huggies, the famous diaper and pull-up brand, understands this perfectly.

And the proof of this is its iconic jingle, "I'm a big kid now!" This line represents the transition from diapers to training pants and the start of the potty training process.

The commercial, which debuted in 1992, features a young child proudly telling his parents about all the things he can do now that he's a "big kid." It highlights the joy and pride of this milestone for both toddlers and their parents. The jingle was a big hit and became one of the brand's most famous.

10

"I'm Lovin' It" - McDonald's

Image: Road Ahead

When you think of McDonald's advertisements, it's impossible not to remember the legendary "I'm Lovin' It."

Although it's newer than some other jingles on this list, "I'm Lovin' It" debuted in 2003 and quickly became an iconic part of the McDonald's brand. Along with the catchy "pa ra pa pa pa" hum, the jingle successfully linked the brand with the pleasure of enjoying a delicious burger.

Thanks to its simplicity and positive vibes, the jingle became a crucial part of the brand's identity and is etched in the memory of many Americans.