Watch Planters’ ad for Mr. Peanut’s Netflix movie role

Mr. Peanut is going Hollywood. The Planters mascot will appear as a robot in the Netflix film “The Electric State,” set to debut on March 14. The appearance gives the Hormel-owned snack brand a rare opportunity to break into pop culture—one that Planters did not pay for, said Ashley Krautkramer-Gonya, Planters’ senior brand manager. It is capitalizing via a separate marketing campaign that includes an ad showing how the Mr. Peanut robot, voiced by Woody Harrelson in the movie, was created. After being turned on, Mr. Peanut holds up a container of Planters and says, “Ahh, nuts,” a reference to the brand’s ongoing campaign. The ad was handled by Planters’ agency BBDO, which worked with Netflix and its in-house creative team. It includes glimpses of vintage ads for the brand and its 109-year-old mascot. The ad will run starting today on Netflix’s ad-supported plans, social media and online video. “The Electric State” is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Simon Stålenhag. It is set in the aftermath of a robot uprising in an alternate version of the ’90s and follows an orphaned teenager (played by Millie Bobby Brown) who ventures across the American West with a cartoon-inspired robot, a smuggler (played by Chris Pratt) and his sidekick in search of her younger brother. Mr. Peanut was not in the graphic novel and is an addition by the Russo Brothers, the directing duo of Anthony and Joseph Russo whose previous films include “Avengers: Endgame” and “Captain America: Civil War.” See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here Mr. Peanut is the leader of the robots and is also a symbol of peace, according to The Direct, which interviewed producer Angela Russo-Otstot. Brand appearances in movies come with opportunities but also risks, especially if marketers do not have creative control over how their assets and imagery are used. According to the report in The Direct, Planters was closely consulted. “My big producorial feat was getting Hormel to hear us out so that we could pitch a movie where Mr. Peanut is the leader of the robot rebellion and a war hero and a symbol for peace,” Russo-Otstot told The Direct. “And once we walked them through the creative, they were really great champions of everything that we were doing.” She added that the Kool-Aid man was also put forth as a possible mascot-turned-robot. Russo-Otstot said in an email to Ad Age that AGBO chose Mr. Peanut for his “nostalgic charm.” AGBO, the movie studio behind the film, “approached Planters to feature Mr. Peanut in the film, and after reviewing the script, the brand agreed,” Planters’ Krautkramer-Gonya said via email. “While Planters didn’t pay for the movie or the Mr. Peanut character’s placement, we allocated marketing dollars to promote the film and drive excitement around the Mr. Peanut character’s role through a brand partnership campaign.” The Planters Nutmobile will also appear in the movie, according to a Planters press release. Other Netflix movies that have had heavy brand references include “Unfrosted,” a lighthearted movie loosely based on the creation of Pop-Tarts. Jerry Seinfeld, who made that film, did not ask Kellanova for permission, but the brand did make a short film to help promote the movie. In other cases, brands have distanced themselves from movies in which they have a prominent role. Nike, for instance, did not do any marketing around “Air,” the 2023 movie about how the shoe brand lured Michael Jordan as an endorser. Director Ben Affleck did not consult Nike about the movie, he has said.

Watch Planters’ ad for Mr. Peanut’s Netflix movie role

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