RCA's Nipper: Animal mascot with staying power
Skyfire
terrier used by RCA. The history behind Nipper is an interesting one.
He was an actual dog, a mix of bull terrier and fox terrier that
lived in England from 1884-1895. He'd peer into a phonograph as if
trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. That image was
converted into an oil painting and then used as a registered trademark
by the Victor Gramophone Company.
(http://www.cedmagic.com/history/gramophone-1900-ad.html) When the
company was acquired by RCA, Nipper stayed on. He was discontinued in
the late 1960s by CEO Robert Sarnoff, son of RCA founder David
Sarnoff, and replaced with the red acrylics logo that still exists
today. But CEO Edgar Griffiths brought Nipper back in the 80s when
RCA launched their ill-fated CED system. Since then, Nipper and his
younger friend, Chipper, are still used as the pitchmen for RCA (or
should I say, pitchdogs?)
Nipper is a mascot I find interesting and I'm trying to understand why
he's been so popular as a mascot. Do you think that an animal mascot
such as Nipper has more staying power than a human pitchman (like
Ronald McDonald or Colonel Sanders)? Or is it that an animal proves
to have more popularity for an icon?
Joe Ekaitis
likenesses to Thomson Consumer Electronics (RCA and GE audio and video
products) and Bertelsmann Music Group (RCA Records).
I don't know if they appeared on the short lived line of major appliances
(!) that bore the RCA logo as GE's entry-level brand.
Maybe I'm just old but "RCA Whirlpool" didn't seem as out of place as just
"RCA" on a washer and dryer. :)
"Skyfire" <artist...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:fe4b9108.04032...@posting.google.com...
> One of the best known company/product mascots out there is Nipper, the
> terrier used by RCA. . .
Chris Sobieniak
(Joe Ekaitis) wrote:
>Their current master, by the way, is General Ele
>ctric who licenses their likenesses to Thomson
>Consumer Electronics (RCA and GE audio and
>video products) and Bertelsmann Music Group
>(RCA Records).
Yes. The RCA as a whole pretty much went belly up in the '80s I think.
>I don't know if they appeared on the short lived
>line of major appliances (!) that bore the RCA logo
>as GE's entry-level brand.
>
>Maybe I'm just old but "RCA Whirlpool" didn't
>seem as out of place as just "RCA" on a washer
>and dryer. :)
They could pretty much just slap the logo on anything and people would
still buy it, regardless whether it's decent or crap (which says a lot
about how Thomson does the business on their end). I also don't tend to
call it "RCA Records" anymore as it's still BMG all the way.
From the Master of Car-too-nal Knowledge...
Christopher M. Sobieniak
--"Fightin' the Frizzies since 1978"--
unidyne
> terrier used by RCA. The history behind Nipper is an interesting one.
> He was an actual dog, a mix of bull terrier and fox terrier that
> lived in England from 1884-1895. He'd peer into a phonograph as if
> trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. That image was
> converted into an oil painting and then used as a registered trademark
> by the Victor Gramophone Company.
> (http://www.cedmagic.com/history/gramophone-1900-ad.html)
From "Nipperscape": http://www.ais.org/~lsa/nipper.html
---
Nipper is perhaps the best-known and most loved advertising trademark. In
the United States, we know him as the "RCA dog." But he started life in
Bristol, England in 1884. Nipper was a mutt, part bull terrier and a trace
of fox terrier.
When his master died he became the pet of the Barraud brothers, Mark and
Francis. At Francis Barraud's photographic studio, Nipper would listen
attentively to the old phonograph. One day it occurred to Barraud that the
dog might be waiting to hear his master's voice. This inspired him to paint
the oil (1895) of Nipper and the gramophone, which is titled appropriately
"His Master's Voice."
Barraud was not satisfied with the painting because he thought it was too
dark. He decided to visit the Gramophone Co., Ltd in London to borrow a
brass horn to brighten up the painting. Since he was there he asked William
Barry Owen if the company would be interested in the painting (he had
brought along a photograph). They were indeed interested, but only if
Barraud would agree to replace the Edison-Bell cylinder phonograph in his
original painting with the company's new disc gramophone.
---
See also: http://www.todotango.com/english/biblioteca/cronicas/perrito.html
Steven F. Scharff
Arty McToon
HMV stores in North America can not use the Nipper and Gramaphone logo
since RCA has the US rights to the logo.
"unidyne" <uni...@cox.net> wrote in message news:<mhq8c.7072$oH2.4761@lakeread01>...
Chris Sobieniak
wrote:
>In England, the Nipper logo is used for the "HMV"
>retail music chain. HMV stores in North America
>can not use the Nipper and Gramaphone logo
>since RCA has the US rights to the logo.
You mean General Electric (who otherwise don't even have their own
electronics devision anymore, lending both it's name and RCA to Thomsom
to sell such cheap, clunky machines on American shelves). Yes, it's sad
when the companys you used to call for quality no longer exist, and are
just brand names on the shelves for posterity.
In Japan, Nipper is still the symbol of the Victor Company of Japan Co.,
Ltd., or better known to us as "JVC" (again, they can't use that logo in
the states).
Skyfire
Ahem, the point to this thread was concerning Nipper and the fact that
he's an animal icon for a business. Repeating my earlier question, do
you think that an animal icon has more popularity than a human icon
when it comes to advertising?
Wanderer
> he's an animal icon for a business. Repeating my earlier question, do
> you think that an animal icon has more popularity than a human icon
> when it comes to advertising?
Yes.:) Since animals exist comfortably outside the boundaries of human
behavior, their behavior can become amusing or threatening, dependent upon
context. In addition, the rounded lines of most domestic animals arouse
maternal/paternal feelings in viewers, enhancing the pitch if properly used.
Referent to furries, this becomes even more important. American animation
specializes in the look the Japanese call "kawaii", for the most part:
Rounded features with big eyes and big heads. (Admittedly, this was not
always the case. Back when TV animation was first getting started, heads
were in proportion, and eyes were simple and small, as with the early Tony
the Tiger. His angles were later rounded, and his eyes enlarged, as they
stood him on two legs for the rest of his career.) This makes furries
invaluable pitchfurs... their rounded features draw the eye and the heart,
causing the viewer to give more notice to the commercial than they normally
would.
Of course, sometimes it backfires a bit. Case in point: The new Snuggle
bear has opening and closing eyes, an "upgrade" from the original's toylike
buttons. Unfortunately, since the character was already designed, the head
could not be expanded to accomodate the mechanism, resulting in smaller,
less "cute" eyes. By comparison, the "throwaway" character of a porcupine
was designed with eye system in place, allowing a larger head to fit the
mechanism... the "throwaway" wound up cuter than the "star"! (I wish they'd
give him a product of his own, already... I like him.:)
Yours with a fondness for porcupines and skunks,
The wolfish,
Wanderer
wand...@ticnet.com
"Where am I going? I don't quite know.
What does it matter *where* people go?
Down to the woods where the bluebells grow!
Anywhere! Anywhere! *I* don't know!"
-- a. a. milne
unidyne
"Wanderer" <wand...@ticnet.com> wrote in message
news:1067a5n...@corp.supernews.com...
> "Skyfire" <artist...@netscape.net> wrote in message
> news:fe4b9108.04032...@posting.google.com...
> > Ahem, the point to this thread was concerning Nipper and the fact that
> > he's an animal icon for a business. Repeating my earlier question, do
> > you think that an animal icon has more popularity than a human icon
> > when it comes to advertising?
>
> Yes.:) Since animals exist comfortably outside the boundaries of human
> behavior, their behavior can become amusing or threatening, dependent upon
> context. In addition, the rounded lines of most domestic animals arouse
> maternal/paternal feelings in viewers, enhancing the pitch if properly
used.
>
> Referent to furries, this becomes even more important. American animation
> specializes in the look the Japanese call "kawaii", for the most part:
> Rounded features with big eyes and big heads. (Admittedly, this was not
> always the case. Back when TV animation was first getting started, heads
> were in proportion, and eyes were simple and small, as with the early Tony
> the Tiger. His angles were later rounded, and his eyes enlarged, as they
> stood him on two legs for the rest of his career.) This makes furries
> invaluable pitchfurs... their rounded features draw the eye and the heart,
> causing the viewer to give more notice to the commercial than they
normally
> would.
It's either a maternal instinct, or what Reed Waller has called "The Teddy
Bear Reflex".
> Of course, sometimes it backfires a bit. Case in point: The new Snuggle
> bear has opening and closing eyes, an "upgrade" from the original's
toylike
> buttons. Unfortunately, since the character was already designed, the
head
> could not be expanded to accomodate the mechanism, resulting in smaller,
> less "cute" eyes. By comparison, the "throwaway" character of a porcupine
> was designed with eye system in place, allowing a larger head to fit the
> mechanism... the "throwaway" wound up cuter than the "star"! (I wish
they'd
> give him a product of his own, already... I like him.:)
What sort of product could you use to have a porcupine promote?
Steven F. Scharff
Obvious Fake. Do Not Harvest.
>What sort of product could you use to have a porcupine promote?
I remember Kellog's tried it with a breakfast cereal, once, but which one I
don't recall.
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Chris Sobieniak
(Obvious Fake. Do Not Harvest.) wrote:
>From: "unidyne" uni...@cox.net
>>What sort of product could you use to have a
>>porcupine promote?
>I remember Kellog's tried it with a breakfast cereal,
>once, but which one I don't recall.
It was "Sugar Pops"! I can't remember the character, but I have an ad
or two on tape anyway to back up my claim!
Wanderer
>
<snip>
> What sort of product could you use to have a porcupine promote?
>
Well, off the top of my shaggy head:
Detergent
Spot remover
Cereal
Syringes
Snack cakes
Tires
Razors
Pillows
Mattresses
Barber shops
Hair mousse/gel
Toys
Computers
Shoes (especially athletic shoes with cleats)
... and of course, Purina Porcupine Chow.:>
Yours wolfishly,
The idea-laden,
Arty McToon
early 1980s. She didn't last too long. I think she replaced the rich
cowboy "Big Tex" (who loved gold-colored things) as the Pops mascot.
Poppy was replaced by live-action athletic kids who got their energy
eating the high-sugar cereal.
chrism...@webtv.net (Chris Sobieniak) wrote in message news:<4715-406...@storefull-3136.bay.webtv.net>...
The Saprophyte
Wanderer wrote:
> "unidyne" <uni...@cox.net> wrote in message
> news:iT59c.10324$oH2.3407@lakeread01...
>
>
> <snip>
>
>>What sort of product could you use to have a porcupine promote?
>>
>
>
> Well, off the top of my shaggy head:
>
(snip)
> Barber shops
> Hair mousse/gel
(snip)
As a matter of fact, 'Lectric Shave Shaving Lotion used to use a
non-morphic porcupine in their Magazine ads and such. I don't know
whether they still use it or not.
--
The Saprophyte
--
Ogg
Dennis Lee Bieber <wulf...@dm.net> wrote:
>On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 18:46:25 -0800, "unidyne" <uni...@cox.net> (unidyne)
>left the following spoor in alt.fan.furry:
>
>> What sort of product could you use to have a porcupine promote?
>>
>
> Disposable grilling skewers
Or the things on the skewers, e.g., marshmallows. I seem to recall
a children's book illustration with that image (from one of the Oz
books perhaps?!?) but cannot place it.
Silver Seams
news:c49g60$7og$1...@panix5.panix.com:
> Or the things on the skewers, e.g., marshmallows. I seem to recall
> a children's book illustration with that image (from one of the Oz
> books perhaps?!?) but cannot place it.
Kevin & Kell strip?
? the Platypus {aka David Formosa}
> "unidyne" <uni...@cox.net> wrote in message
> news:iT59c.10324$oH2.3407@lakeread01...
[...]
> > What sort of product could you use to have a porcupine promote?
>
> Well, off the top of my shaggy head:
>
> Detergent
In australia we had a searies of adds promoting underware that
featured an echidna (Spiny Ant eater).
--
Please excuse my spelling as I suffer from agraphia. See
http://dformosa.zeta.org.au/~dformosa/Spelling.html to find out more.
Free the Memes.