Orville Redenbacher and His Evil Dead Twin Make Icon Lists

The Most Famous and the Creepiest

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 09.26.07 @ 06:14 PM

Apparently, Orville Redenbacher and the editor-groping, chicken-murdering Chick-Fil-A Cows have been crowned the nations most beloved icons (for this year) and will be inducted into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame. Winning slogans in the contest were "The Few, the Proud, The Marines" and Southwest Airlines' "Ding ... you are now free to move about the country."

In other very important icon news, we've got a list of the icons some of our readers find extra creepy. (In honor of this great post from last year.)

Orville Deadenbacher
No surprise here. And I said all I needed to say about this monstrosity here.

Texas Instruments' "It's the mirrors" girl


Reader Mike Mcglinn writes: "As soon as one of the commercials hits the screen, I go through this paranoid thought sequence, 'Why'd they make the little girl creepy? She doesn't have to be creepy. Isn't this creepy? Doesn't anyone think this is creepy?! Why'd they decide to do this?! It's so creepy! Quick, I've got to change the channel before she finds her way through the TV and into my home!'" Yes, Mike she's creepy. Not only does she hang out with an elephant, but she can't pronounce the word mirror correctly, either.

Subway's Jared
Sorry. He just looks creepy. I can't stand him.

Quizno's Spongmonkeys


While I do think they're charming, I must admit that rat-shaped things shouldn't be used to sell food.

The Mucinex Mucus blob


Writes Dawn Halbert: "He even has a son. I can't believe that they made a character out of snot."

Mr. Whipple


An unexpected entry to be sure, but as Bob Shiffrar puts it: "Imagine a 50-year-old man wandering around a supermarket, sidling up to you, then squeezing your toilet paper."

Well, when you put it that way, Bob . . . Then again, after watching a few of these old spots, I think the ladies so intent on public squeezing of toilet paper might actually be creepier.

Six Flags' Mr. Six


Ah, yes. The Pied Piper of Perversion.

Baby Ronald
Consider this a Hindu's revenge for all those hamburgers you've eaten. I don't know if this qualifies as an icon, but the poster child for McDonald's in India should have been thrown out with the bathwater. I'm no clownophobe, but this is enough to give me nightmares.