Fido Dido, Pepsico’s Most Visible Mascot, Continues To Delight 7 Up’s Fans

It is really beats logic how a mere cartoon catches the imagination of generations. It was in 1987, that Fido Dido, a cartoon with frizzy hair, came into the consciousness of the public through 7 Up ads. This cartoon character became famous as PepsiCo mascot for 7 Up and remains so till date.

Fido Dido was the result of doodling by Sue Rose, who sketched it first on a napkin in 1985. She immediately recognized the potential of what she had created and teamed up with Joanna Ferrone to make T-shirts featuring this cartoon character.

The T-shirt featuring the Fido Dido character also had a slogan printed on it that read “Fido is for Fido, Fido is against no one’. As the cartoon’s popularity grew as a T-shirt character, PepsiCo licensed it as a mascot in 1987 and started featuring it in its 7 Up ads.

However, it was not until the 1990s that Fido began to get identified as the face of 7 Up. His trendy look endeared him to millions not only in the US, but around the globe. In addition to 7 Up, PepsiCo also used this mascot on two of its other products – Slice in the US and Fruko in Turkey. Fido always features as a black and white character.

What is charming about this tall and slim personality is his laid-back attitude and unconventional take on life. Youngsters immediately identify with him, what with his white T-shirt that sports a minimalist version of his face, white shorts and white sneakers.

Fido started out as a traditionally animated version, but soon took the form of a computer-generated image (CGI). In its animated version, he sports black hair strands and in CGI, white ones. Although Fido’s animated version has been around from its inception, the CGI version was reintroduced in the 2000s. Both versions have debuted in different countries.

PepsiCo also used Fido in television advertisements for 7 Up. The ad campaign strategists took liberty with this character and in one television advertisement, they even bestowed him with the ability to manipulate and alter reality, for example, reversing the changes done by an artist in one of the advertisements.

In the early 1990s, Fido was also shown with his family and friends in sponsorship bumpers on CBS channel. His family includes Lido Dido, who has two children – son, Mario and daughter, Julia P Dido. His friends include Doodles, Doody, Eff Dee and Boy. His pets are a dog and a cat, Fido and Gato, respectively.

There is no doubt that Fido Dido is here to stay to delight people all around the world.

Comments

comments