An Animated Cat Singing The iPhone Ringtone Became A Meme
It's difficult to think of a more cursed, loathed and ill-timed ad campaign than Planter's Baby Nut experiment. The company infamously "killed" its long-time mascot, Mr. Peanut, in a comedic ad ahead of this year's Super Bowl, only to have him resurrected as Baby Nut, an instantly-hated child iteration of the character (this was after Planter's had to pause the campaign out of respect for Kobe Bryant's death).
Nearly eight months after the bizarre ad campaign, with America in its sixth month of the coronavirus pandemic, Planter's evidently felt it was time to update Baby Nut, debuting a more grown-up version of the character. That's right: Baby Nut is 21 and ready to drink.
I’m officially 21, my friends! Before you ask, yes, I was just a baby. What can I say? It’s been a nutty year. Now someone get this peanut a beer! #MakeMyBirthdayNuts pic.twitter.com/P1UfBIi4N8
— Peanut Jr. (@MrPeanut) August 11, 2020
There's a lot to take in here. The tweet, in young "Peanut Jr.'s" voice, acknowledges that the legume was "just a baby" but is now the specific age of 21 and is ready for a beer. He also says "it's been a nutty year," implying that the pandemic is somehow related to Baby Nut aging two decades in six months.
Whatever Mr. Nut meant, everyone on Twitter seemed to agree they weren't having it.
They killed Mr. Peanut for a "laugh" and now we all have the novel coronavirus. The Baby Nut should be executed in front of a crowd
— Čöłęÿ Mīçk (@ColeyMick) August 11, 2020
The baby nut is to blame for everything. pic.twitter.com/pa1Z2mQanr
— FABINO (@KinoFabino) August 11, 2020
They KILLED Mr. Peanut (already an abomination), RESURRECTED him in the form of BABY NUT (a yet greater sin against God), and then leapfrogged EVERY form of adolescent development (complete with KAFKA-ESQUE TRANSFORMATION PAINS) so he could DRINK.
HE'S AN ORGAN DONOR
WHY— Xalavier Nelson Jr. @ Werewolf Bar Mitzvah (@WritNelson) August 11, 2020
Everyone: baby nut sucks shit. fuck this viral crap, I hope the nut gets covid
Some analytics firm called like ÆGIS: so the engagement is great— Dan Hopper (@DanHopp) August 11, 2020
The backlash was so bad that #BlockMrPeanut trended on Twitter throughout the day.
I have to go to bed but I would love to wake to a world where #BlockMrPeanut is trending. He thinks he can just push himself to the front of public consciousness though cute forced vitality. Not the year for it. I won't have it. pic.twitter.com/qfnZZUOq01
— Mr Sunday Movies (@mrsundaymovies) August 11, 2020
I want to see a birth certificate, there's no way that baby nut is now a 21-years old beer drinking peanut, until then I will #BlockMrPeanut for lying to the American public and frankly engaging in dangerous behavior. pic.twitter.com/iCE8pSnvrL
— I make you laugh, so? (@Otoxha) August 11, 2020
The world after everyone blocks Mr.Peanut #BlockMrPeanut pic.twitter.com/kumj4SZfoY
— ((Fitzy)) 🐝 (@TheFknLizrdKing) August 11, 2020
Clearly, Planter's peanut-growing experiment has gone massively awry and the internet is not having it. However, while this Peanut Jr. is certainly an annoying reminder of the killing of Mr. Peanut which may or may not have led to the global pandemic, there were some signs of optimism.
Baby Nut brought us into a year of darkness and chaos, so my theory is that Peanut Jr. signifies the beginning stages of the curse cooling, and on Jan.1.2021 he will grow back into Mr. Peanut, restoring order to Earth.
Alternatively: The World Ends upon the return of Mr. Peanut https://t.co/vxJaXeBqTR— ??? (@CurseHole) August 11, 2020
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