Mr. Peanut being killed off? I wouldn't bet on it.

As brand icons go, Mr. Peanut has enjoyed some rather enviable longevity. It - I almost wrote "he" there - has been around since 1916. Oh, it's - I almost wrote "he's" there - not the oldest brand mascot out there. The Morton Salt Girl ("when it rains, it pours") has been around since 1914. For once and for all, this answers the age-old question: which came first, the peanut or the salt?

Other "test of time" icons include the Campbell Kids (1904) and the Quaker Oats Man (1877). But some seem to fade away. I know that Bucky Beaver went the way of Ipana (a toothpaste that was brieflyl popular in the late 1950's). But is Speedy Alkaseltzer still a thing?  The Jolly Green Giant? (There was even a Top 40 song by the Kingsmen about the Jolly Green Giant. The Kingsmen were apparently quite versatile. They're the group that also brought us the mystery  lyrics - rumored to be ultra-dirty - "Louie Louie.")

As for Mr. Peanut, I like peanuts as much as the next guy, but I've never been all that enamored of Mr. P. There's something just plain creepy about those long skinny legs. And I suppose the shell is supposed to be clothing, but there is something weird about the entire look. Not Porky Pig only wearing a jacket weird. But plenty weird.

Anyway, the rumor is that we may not have Mr. Peanut to kick around for much longer. 

Kraft/Heinz, maker of Planters, the brand Mr. Peanut reps for, is dropping some pretty large hints - Brazil nut large, not peanut large - that, come Super Bowl Sunday, Mr. Peanut will be killed off. There's even a Twitter account ("The Estate of Mr. Peanut") that has confirmed that Mr. Peanut is a goner, having died in a fiery over the cliff crash. No word on whether any body parts could be salvaged, whether Mr. Peanut was able to become the center of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or chopped up in a dish of Kung Pao Chicken. Just that Mr. Peanut is dead.

Kraft Heinz is obviously trying to create some Super Bowl buzz, with the brand manager announcing that she's hoping that "fans tune in to Mr. Peanut's funeral during the third quarter of the Super Bowl to celebrate his life." (Come on, brand manager, surely Mr. Peanut is an "it".)

These days, it's not enough for an icon to just be iconic. Today's advertising imperative is that the brand mascot creates some buzz - a lot of retweets, maybe even a meme - on social media.

Inc. is not a big fan of Kraft Heinze taking this "absurd" approach to social media:

...there's literally nothing more manufactured than a pre-planned marketing campaign featuring a tweet announcing the death of a made-up brand character just to generate buzz for a pretend funeral for said character.

 .. in a world where brands are increasingly defined by their most recent engagement on social media, the temptation is to generate as much buzz as possible by doing outrageous or extreme things. I'm not sure how else to describe the fake death of a fake mascot, but this is where we are.

Well, tsk tsk. But when I looked - last Thursday - the tweet confirming Mr. Peanut's passing had gotten 111K likes, 27.5K retweets, and nearly 9K comments. (I glanced through a few of the comments, and my fave asked the question "Open or closed shell funeral?") Many commenters professed (or tweeted) their sadness (#RIPeanut), while a number were happy to see Mr. Peanut roast in hell. Harsh!

So if Kraft Heinz was looking for attention, bravo. They've gotten plenty of it. And going into the third quarter of the Super Bowl this coming Sunday, the buzz may well be with them. 

Me? I've watched too many cartoons and soap operas to buy that Mr. Peanut's dead. I've seen too many times when Daffy's bill gets slapped off, his feathers get blasted off, only to have Daffy appear miraculously intact. Too many "identical twin" died soap operaa episodes. Nope. Mr. Peanut is NOT dead.  It - I almost wrote "he" here - will miraculously appear at its - I almost wrote "his" here - funeral to inform us of its - I almost wrote "his" here - survival. If Mr. Peanut does survive, I'm hoping it - I almost wrote "he" here - has the deceny to put some pants on.