Why big tech is betting on cute mascots

"People are reaching a crisis point when it comes to our relationship with consumer-oriented technologies," she says. "So many companies are getting a massively bad rap for being these techno overlords. What better way to cut through than to create a cute and cuddly, anthropomorphic mascot?"

Both Nahai and Patterson are concerned about the impact of combining AI and mascots, enabling them to interact with people in new, highly personalised ways. Patterson says: "Individual brand mascots will begin to talk to us on a one-to-one level and try to persuade us to do things. It's a bit creepy, isn't it?"

However, seen from a branding perspective, a colourful character can help breed familiarity. Exposed to mascots, especially from a young age, customers often "feel warm, familiar feelings for the brand forever", says Patterson.

Microsoft, for its part, says it has had "encouraging feedback so far" about Mico, but that users who don't want to talk with the character have the option to turn it off.

One of the most well-known online mascots in recent years is the big-eyed green owl that encourages language learners on the Duolingo app.

The team behind the app credit the owl, Duo, with helping attract more than 20 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. Kat Chan, Duolingo's head of brand marketing, says: "Duo has become much more than a mascot.

"He's a character people follow and interact with, which has changed how we show up as a brand… people are invested in Duo."

Nahai says by using mascots, brands tap into people's innate impulses. "In nature, we have evolved to respond with certain behaviours towards something like a baby which has a large head and big eyes," she says – features that are exaggerated in many brand characters.

Using a mascot is by no means a new strategy. Sports teams have used them since the 19th Century. Other brands followed suit. "Since the 1960s, mascots have been a really powerful tool for building brands," says Patterson.

However, he adds they later became a victim of their own success, with so many characters around that people became bored of them. So, companies phased them out.

But now a resurgence appears to be underway and it's not just tech companies. Book publisher Penguin has just breathed new life into the bird that has adorned its book spines since 1935.

It has created a series of hand-drawn illustrations of the penguin "to bring warmth, humour and personality to everything from our social media presence to brand campaigns and social impact work".

Not all mascots are cute though. "Mascots have a chequered history," points out Patterson. For instance, cigarette brand Camel used to have a smoking cartoon mascot called Joe Camel that was widely used in its adverts.

Nahai says she is hopeful that consumers are savvy enough nowadays to see past the cuteness of a company's cartoon character mascot. "I think there's more cynicism [these days]," she says.

"But for people who are younger, who haven't been exposed to cynical marketing practices, these strategies may have more persuasive impacts."