Promos leading up to Super Bowl ads featuring the demise of marketing mascot Mr. Peanut have been put on ice in the wake of basketball star Kobe Bryant’s tragic death in a helicopter crash Sunday.
The Planters peanut company, owned by Kraft Heinz, told NBC that a Twitter and YouTube ad campaign leading up to the spot slated to run on Feb. 2 during the NFL’s championship game is being suspended indefinitely.
An ad posted online Jan. 21 shows Mr. Peanut, who has been the face of the brand for 104 years, meeting his fate after an auto accident leaves him and actors Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh winding up on a tree branch.
When that branch becomes compromised by the weight of the three accident survivors, Mr. Peanut sacrifices himself, presumably plummeting to his death.
“We wanted you to know that we are saddened by this weekend’s news and Planters has paused all campaign activities, including paid media, and will evaluate next steps through a lens of sensitivity to those impacted by this tragedy,” a spokesperson for Planters reportedly said.