Spokes-Characters in Print Advertising: An Update and Extension

From Mr. Peanut to the GEICO gecko, spokes-characters have been a consistently used promotional tool across time; previous research demonstrates that between the 1950s and 1990s, spokes-character use remained stable at 7% of all print ads targeted at adults. Our study investigates whether spokes-characters are still a prevalent strategy used by advertisers to engage modern consumers. In total, 922 ads collected from men's and women's magazines indicate that the use of spokes-characters significantly increased over the past 20 years; the types of characters featured also have undergone changes. Interpretations of these findings discuss historical changes as potential facilitators of this increasingly used advertising tool.