The Journey from a Cartoon Sketch to a Brand Mascot: Fido Dido
In the second edition of the series Mascot, we will be introducing you to Fido Dido, who interestingly was a cartoon illustration before becoming the laidback mascot for 7UP. Fido Dido was created by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose when Rose doodled it on a napkin in the year 1985. All the 90s kids know him for his triangular face, two dots for eyes, and a few squiggly lines for hair and with the tagline ‘keep it cool’.
The Persona of Fido Dido
While drafting the personality of Fido Dido, Ferrone described him as a character who has wisdom beyond his age. He is known to be thoughtful, chill, and compassionate. His philosophy, as quoted by Ferrone is, “You are what you are and what you are is okay.”
They started selling him stenciled on the T-shirts with the description: “Fido is for Fido, Fido is against no one”.Within a year of operation, these t-shirts became a wearable VIP pass into the hottest nightclubs in New York.
Fido Dido: The journey
In 1988, PepsiCo approached Ferrone and signed a contract initially for just five years to use the imagery of Fido Dido as 7UP’s mascot. However, later they continued the relationship forever. The character was used on various merchandise like t-shirts, shoes, backpack, perfumes, stationery, etc apart from being in 7UP ads.
He was later on replaced by Cool Spot as the brand mascot for 7UP in the US. Though, he still appeared in ads outside the US. Meanwhile, Fido was used to promote Slice in the US. In the 2000s, Fido reappeared in ads for 7UP worldwide.
He has featured in various ad campaigns of 7 UP worldwide including Australia, India, the Philippines, and the Netherlands. His funky look, laid-back attitude, and an unconventional take on life, made him an instant hit! He was also used as a mascot for another drink, Fruko in Turkey. In 1990, he also started appearing in bumpers for Saturday morning bumpers on CBS.
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In Uk, in the year 1992, he could be seen in his own magazine, where the first edition introduced his family titled “Meet the Fidos”. His friends include Doodles, Doody, Eff Dee, and Boy. His pets are a dog and a cat, Fido, and Gato, respectively. Fido Dido’s family includes Lido Dido, who has two children – son, Mario, and daughter, Julia P Dido. Several comic strips, video games, animated short films were also made on Fido Dido.
The Revival
In the year 2018, the brand revived him for a limited time with a limited edition 7 Up bottles. BBDO India conceptualized a TVC, tagline “#BacktoCool”, which shows the evolution of the character. The TVC brought back the mascot, which 90s kids loved and cherished. The brand, then moved ahead to introduce limited-edition merchandise. The market was flooded with Fido Dido headphones, sippers, Bluetooth speakers, t-shirts & hoodies, notebooks, and funky slap-bands inspired by the new packaging.
Source:
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1985-FIDO-DIDO-7UP-HANG-IN-THERE-DOUBLE-SIDED-SINGLE-STITCH-T-SHIRT-L-/153581468472
- https://www.advertisingweek360.com/how-fido-dido-became-the-face-of-7up/
- https://admascots.fandom.com/wiki/Fido_Dido#:~:text=Fido%20Dido%20is%20a%20mascot,Fido%20is%20against%20no%20one%22
- https://web.archive.org/web/20160208204706/http://fidodido.com/about/his-story/
- https://admascots.fandom.com/wiki/Fido_Dido#:~:text=Fido%20Dido%20is%20a%20mascot,Fido%20is%20against%20no%20
About the Author:
Aditi Garg is an MBA student, filled with curiosity to learn and explore more of the Digital Marketing World. As a Digital Marketing Executive at Social Buzz, Aditi takes an active part in curating content, and strategizing marketing campaigns to execute them with perfection!
This is an interesting series, and Fido Dido is a very interesting choice!
Thanks for your encouraging words! Fido Dido has been an inspiration for a long time!
– Aditi
I remember Fido Dido, but had no idea the story behind him. This is cool! And I remember Cool Spot!!!
Cool spot and Fido Dido were close competitors! But I still preferred Fido Dido anyday!
-Aditi
Cool! It’s so great to know the story behind 7up’s logo. Love it!
Among the galaxy of mascots, Fido Dido, definitely is the best! I didn’t like 7UP’s taste though!
-Aditi
I admit I’ve never heard of this story before, so it was definitely a nice read !! The design is cute as well, thanks for sharing this article with us!
Thanks for kind words and I found the story intriguing too! I have to admit, my designer has done a wonderful job indeed!
-Aditi
Interesting little story! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Stay tuned for more!
-Aditi
Oh this is a great story. Thank you for sharing.
I plan to share more such stories! Stay tuned to this space!
– Aditi
Oh wow, I had no idea this is how the logo came about. It’s a very interesting story.
Fido Dido, indeed, has an interesting journey worth tracing!
-Aditi
Such a cool story! I love studying graphic design and the history of advertising. It’s amazing how far a cool doodle can go!
Fido Dido’s transformational journey from a Cartoon Sketch to a World renowned mascot is inspirational and the creators deserve all the credit due to them!
-Aditi
I felt like I read these comic back in the days. The comic style also reminds me of Doug the cartoon from the 90s.
Haha! that feeling is mutual.
– Aditi
That’s pretty awesome. It’s amazing how something simple as a sketch became a full own brand symbol that many people remember so many years later.
Dear Ambuj Saxena, it is marvellous piece of research work. If one starts reading it, can’t flip over other post untill s/he finishes it till end. Congratulations . Such marvelous work of research, Keep it up
Thank you for your kind words sir! I shall keep up the good work under your able guidance….
-Aditi
Very well said, Jasmine! I have seen an increase in brands’ adoption of Mascot instead of Celebrities, in recent times.
-Aditi
haven’t heard this story before but this story sounds so interesting and amazing one ..glad you shared this with us..BTW those T-shirt designs really looks so cool
I have a decade old T-shirt of Fido Dido and still love to wear it while hanging out with friends.
-Aditi
Thats an interesting story. I really never knew about this mascot can you believe it?
Glad you liked the blog post! Stay tuned for more Mascot Advertising blog posts!
-Aditi
I LOVED Fido Dido. I had shirts with prints of him. He was just the coolest.
Fido Dido merchandise are indeed, the coolest!
-Aditi