Emotional connection to commercial characters

[Mathnomalous]

Do any of currently have or had some kind of emotional connection to commercial characters from your childhood (or adulthood)? For example, you buy Frosted Flakes because you feel emotionally "attached" to Tony the Tiger or you smoke Marlboro because you emotionally "connect" with the Marlboro Man?

I do not think I retained any connection to a commercial character, if I ever had them in the first place.

 

[Danger]

I do. I ignore most of them, but there are some who I adore and some who I would gladly shoot on sight.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Do any of currently have or had some kind of emotional connection to commercial characters from your childhood (or adulthood)? For example, you buy Frosted Flakes because you feel emotionally "attached" to Tony the Tiger or you smoke Marlboro because you emotionally "connect" with the Marlboro Man?

I do not think I retained any connection to a commercial character, if I ever had them in the first place.

Nothing comes to mind for me. I do feel an emotional connection to some products through familial association. For example, when I was very young, I always knew I could count on Grandma for an Eskimo Pie. Granny always had Carnation Malted Milk [for a malted milkshake]. Since I don't normally buy either product, it is impossible to think of, or esp, eat either of them without thinking of the respective grandmother; and without feeling like I'm ten-years old again, just for a moment. For that reason there is a unique fondness for these products.

 

[Mathnomalous]

I do. I ignore most of them, but there are some who I adore and some who I would gladly shoot on sight.

Tony the Tiger, right?

Tony: "They are grrrrrrrreaaaat!"
Yeah, Tony, they are great for early onset diabetes, jerk.*



*Based on my unscientific opinion. Please do not sue me, Mr. Tony the Tiger.

 

[Danger]

Tony the Tiger, right?

Actually, Tony died a couple of years back, in his 80's or 90's. I can't remember his real name right now, but his replacement has the voice pretty much nailed.
Usually, it's the ads themselves that piss me off rather than the performers, although there have been a couple of notable exceptions. The ones that never fail to get my goat are Yank drug ads. I never had to put up with those before I got cable. They tag so many caveats on the end that the basic message you're left with is, "there is a small possibility that you might notice some infinitesimal improvement from this, if by unlikely chance it doesn't kill you first."
The other current one is for toothpaste. "As a professional photographer, I recommend..." while the printing right under her stupid grin says "Actress—not a real professional photographer."
Oh yeah, and one featuring an obviously CGI car with a notice that it's a professional driver on a closed course. There's no damned driver at all, unless you count wiggling a mouse around as driving.