The Energizer Bunny
Did you know the Energizer Bunny, the marketing icon for Eveready Batteries, does not appear in Europe or Australia? And why not? Because that is the territory of the Duracell Bunny. How did this come to be? Well, the Duracell Bunny is older, and appears in European ads as a species rather than a single bunny.
Here is how it happened. The European TV commercial showed a bunch of mechanical bunnies playing various instruments who slowly wound down and stopped. The Duracell Bunny lasted the longest because it was powered by a carbon Duracell battery. So Eveready produced a TV commercial that showed the same scene but had the Energizer Bunny barge in banging on a big drum being powered by an alkaline Energizer battery and outlasting them all.
The original slogan of the Energizer Bunny commercials was “Nothing outlasts the Energizer”. Today’s slogan is “It keeps going, and going, and going”.
The name “Energizer Bunny” has entered the American vernacular with even some of our Presidents using the phrase in their speeches. If someone or thing is referred to as an “Energizer Bunny” this is always a compliment.
In the 115 TV ads thus far, many celebrities have appeared with the Energizer Bunny such as Elvis, Darth Vader, and the Wicked Witch of Oz. New TV ads come out about twice a year.
Yes, we have a life-size Energizer Bunny in the Mid-South Bunny Museum with his pink fur, dark sunglasses, long ears, big beach sandals, and he is beating on his drum. And yes, he is a very cool dude!
Since 1994 there is also a hot “hare” balloon of the Energizer Bunny. In fact, it is the largest hot air balloon in the world. It stands 166’ tall (that’s 15 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty), with 60’ ears, and for landing has feet the size of 98 EEEE. The balloon weighs 1,170 pounds, and over 84 miles of thread was needed to sew it together.