Heard of brand recalls? Even if you haven't, you have all been practising this for a very long time. Especially when you see a face, a mascot, a logo, and think of your favourite food item. For the uninitiated, brand recall is the ability of consumers, which means you and I, to remember a brand name when we think of something particular. Thanks to brand mascots, which remind us of the brand the moment we think of them. It is smart because of the picture-superiority effect, which makes it easier for our brains to remember visuals than words. So, when you see a face, a logo, or a mascot, you know the brand. Or, the visuals are embedded so deeply in your mind that whenever you think of a particular food item, that visual flashes in your brain, and you end up buying it.

Well, as interesting as it may sound, something that is even more interesting are the stories behind some of these famous brands. Some of them are known globally, some nationally, and some are regional favourites. Let's indulge in their stories now!

No one can talk about a mascot and not mention McDonald, the clown that you see sitting on a bench at almost every McD outlet. It is a global icon. His name is Ronald McDonald.

He first appeared in 1963 as a quirky, “hamburger-happy clown” on local TV in Washington, D.C., wearing a paper cup for a nose and food trays for a hat and chest. He was played by Willard Scott, who had previously portrayed Bozo the Clown and later became known as the “TODAY” show’s weatherman.

In 1965, McDonald’s launched Ronald as its national mascot with a more polished look: red nose, yellow jumpsuit, and no food trays. Aimed squarely at kids, he became the star of "McDonaldland," a fictional world with sidekicks like the Hamburglar and Grimace.

Ronald's look stayed mostly the same until 2014, when he got a modern update—cargo pants, a rugby shirt, and a red blazer.

You do not even need to mention the name of the brand, because his face is already known as the Quaker Man. He is affectionately known as "Larry" back in the company. The mascot dates back to 1877, when the Quaker Mill in Ravenna, Ohio, trademarked a man in traditional Quaker attire to promote its oat cereal. The image was meant to evoke honesty and wholesome values.

After becoming part of the American Cereal Company and later rebranding as Quaker Oats in 1901, the company kept the Quaker man as its enduring mascot, with a few visual updates over the years, including a slimmer look.

There’s debate over who originally came up with the idea: one founder cited Quaker values, while another claimed it was modelled on William Penn—a claim the company later denied.

Shifting our gaze a bit within our own country, no one can talk about food, mascots, and forget to talk about the Parle-G girl. Now, there are lots of debates, especially if you go to Reddit and Quora threads. It is like a rabbit hole. Some say she is a girl from Nagpur, named Neeru Deshpandey, whose photo was clicked when she was only 4 years and 3 months old. While some say her name is Gunjn Gundaniya. Well, to put this debate to rest, Mayank Shah, the group product manager at Parle Products, revealed that this was actually an illustration created by Everest Creative.

The story goes by that in the 1980s, Parle’s glucose or the Parle-'G' biscuits were a household favourite—but they weren’t alone. Rivals like Britannia also launched their own glucose biscuits, leading to plenty of shopper confusion. Customers would simply ask for “glucose biscuits,” leaving shopkeepers guessing which brand they meant.

To stand out, Parle made a smart move: it rebranded its biscuits with a fresh, unmistakable look. Out went the plain packaging, and in came the now-iconic yellow wax-paper wrapper featuring a wide-eyed little girl, the bold red Parle-G logo, and a clear brand identity. The design didn’t just clear up the confusion—it became one of India’s most recognisable biscuit wrappers.

If you say butter, I will say Amul! I would like to believe that it is true for everyone! Amul is known for its witty ads and staying politically relevant, thanks to its cartoon and the unmissable mascot - the Amul girl.

But do you know that the Amul girl was actually created as a rival to the Polson butter girl? The Utterly Butterly girl has kept her fans loyal to her, thanks to Sylvester daCunha, the then managing director of the advertising agency, ASP, who changed the face of Amul butter. daCunha says, "Eustace Fernandez (the art director) and I decided that we needed a girl who would worm her way into a housewife's heart. And who better than a little girl?" This is how the famous Amul Moppet was born. And the phrase "utterly butterly delicious"? Well, that was coined by Sylvester's wife, Nisha daCunha, which became the phrase that connects people across their generations.

This is a favourite snack or a side dish with every Indian meal. Lijjat papad was an instant success; however, soon, many started to sell fake Lijjat papads, and so to counter the menace, the company felt that it was time to go big on branding. Thus came the Lijjat papad mascot, the bunny.

Well, to be fair, Lijjat papad already had a trademark picture of a boy eating papad, but they needed to do something more, something more than this.

It was also the time when everyone was impressed by ventriloquist Ramdas Padhye, who performed on Doordarshan with his puppet Ardhavatro. He was then approached to create a character for Lijjat, and so the bunny was invented. While a papad-munching bunny may seem off at first, it became a hit for the company!

Not only that, but in the ad campaigns, Padhye also voiced the bunny and gave him a distinct "eh he he" laughter.

Call it bias, or whatever you want to, but a Bengali cannot go without their Mukharochak Chanachur. When I was writing this piece, I knew that I could not write a piece without telling people about the iconic Mukharochak Chanachur, and the face that you see on it.

In every Bengali household, you will see this. This snacking brand has won the hearts of Bengalis for four generations and continues to do so.

The story behind the Mukharochak Chanachur face traces back to a small shop near Kolkata’s Tollygunge tram depot in the 1950s. Founded by Panchanan Chandra and later led by his son Nirmalendu, the brand grew into a household name, eventually setting up a larger factory in Dakshin Gobindapur. All thanks to Nirmalendu Chandra, who started experimenting with the market as per the global standards, and soon turned a Bengali niche into an international brand, indeed. The iconic face on the packet appeared, and it’s none other than Panchanan Chandra himself — the man who started it all.