Frozen In Time

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The tiny, immobile Travelocity gnome. The big-headed, always smiling Burger King. The 6-foot-tall, perfectly still Quaker Oats man. We’ve seen inanimate ad icons before, but more and more of them are popping up in ad campaigns these days. Even McDonald’s, which has historically employed a live version of Ronald McDonald, got into the inanimation act this year, presenting its spokesclown in statue form in a series of spots earlier this year.

“There is a quest for a fresh approach to this stuff that is a little tongue- in-cheek without going too far and working with an icon in a different way,” says Chel White, a director/partner at Bent Image Labs, which produced the current Tractor Supply Company campaign for Minneapolis’ Carmichael Lynch featuring small, non-moving, Midwestern-type dolls.

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