:: adgruntie :: Don't let your brand icon grow up to be a shill

+ Funny article on the creepy newish Sun Maid Raisin spots.

But now, for the first time in her very long life, the beauty on the box has been granted a Pilates body, an aerobics instructor's voice, and a 30-second television spot to launch her new career as a company spokescharacter.

[...snip...]
"There are a lot of pitfalls," Lanahan says. "You could take a huge misstep and completely sully the perception people have of the character."

Perception? Of a drawing on a box?

"When a character comes to life, they have to have a story behind them, provide some entertainment; otherwise they just become a shill, and that's a terrible thing to do to a character, to make them into nothing but a shill."

Somebody please call the Energizer Bunny's lawyer.