Mr. Peanut, voiced of late by Robert Downey Jr., is apparently too much of a wuss to do his own stunts. So, Planters has brought in a new character, Doug, voiced by the more macho Kevin Dillon (aka, Johnny "Drama" Chase on HBO's Entourage), to be Mr. Peanut's stunt double.

Mr. P needs a stunt double because the Kraft brand is expanding into peanut butter, which requires the peanuts to get seriously pulverized. Thus, in the spot, below, we see Doug being sent in to take the "crushes" for his diva-ish celebrity look-alike and getting flattened by a statue, charged by an insect-bull, and crushed by a lighting rig. Each time, all that remains of Doug is a jar of peanut butter—as he flashes a thumbs-up through the top to let us know he's fine.

The spot, from ad agency Being (an offshoot of TBWA) and director Mark Gustafson of Laika, is amusing enough—cartoon violence is always a pretty sure bet, and the animation is nicely done. Beyond that, it's nothing earth-shattering. The brand isn't too much of a risk taker. Finally giving Mr. Peanut a voice last year—94 years after his creation—was, for them, a huge step. It's no surprise the spots themselves are eminently traditional. The most novel aspect of this new spot is that it debuted on Facebook, not TV, and clocks in at a wonky 44 seconds.

Planters says it wants to get consumers "thinking outside the lunchbox" and considering peanut butter to be as much an adult food as a kid food. As part of that effort, Planters has also commissioned chef Marcus Samuelsson (co-owner of Aquavit in New York) to create Kraft-exclusive recipes like Planters Peanut Butter-Chocolate French Toast and Planters Peanut Butter Steak Sauce. The brand's tagline, "Naturally remarkable," presumably wouldn't apply to those concoctions.



CREDITS
Client: Planters
Product: Planters Peanut Butter
Agency: Being, New York
Spot: "Peanut Butter Doug"

Agency
Chief Creative Officer: Mark Figliulo
Creative Director: Kris Wixom
Creative Director: Alisa Wixom
Art Director: Jelani Curtis
Copywriter: Chris Stephens
Head of Production: Robert Valdes
Executive Producer: David Fisher
Producer: Howard Howell
Business Director: Caroline Winterton
Account Director: Kim Tice
Account Executive: Sara Heller
Group Assistant: Hunter Serenbetz

Production
Production Company: Laika
Director: Mark Gustafson
Executive Producer: Lourri Hammack
Producer: Rebecca Bowen

Art Department
Creative Director: Kirk Kelley
Character Designer: Robin Ator
Storyboard Artist: Robin Ator
Photoshop Artist: Jenny Kincade

Fabrication
Art Department Lead (Character Fabrication): Katie Mello
Art Department Lead (Set/Prop Fabrication): Rob Melchior
Costumer: Margaret Meyer
Costumer: Sara Neiman
Wrangler: Rob Melchior

Stage
Director of Photography: John Nolan
Animator: Wendy Fuller
Animator: Chris Ohlgren
Motion Control: John Nolan
Swing/Elec/Grip: Erica Johnson
Stage Manager: Erica Johnson
Assistant Camera: Erica Johnson
Production Assistant: Dave Gulick
Production Assistant: Vanessa Walker

Editorial
Editor: Michael Corrigan
Flame: Artist Rex Carter
Flint Artist: Leif Peterson
Tape Op: Travis Ezell
Scheduler: Melissa Tvetan