Dole’s Bobby Banana Honored with Exhibit at National Mascot Hall of Fame for Decades of Fruitful Contributions
29 Julio 2024 - 6:15AM
Business Wire
7-foot global ambassador of healthy
living celebrated as one of the country’s best corporate
mascots during Dole’s 125th Banana-Versary
Every banana has its day in the sun.
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Bobby Banana, the 7-foot healthy-eating
mascot of the Dole Food Company, is the star of a ripe new exhibit
at the National Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting, Ind. The display is
part of Dole's 125th Banana-Versary, celebrating the produce
leader's 125th year in the banana business, and continues through
September 2024. (Photo: Business Wire)
The National Mascot Hall of Fame, the country’s only online and
physical museum and interactive educational experience dedicated to
honoring the contributions of sports mascots, has unveiled a
special display featuring Bobby Banana, the celebrated 7-foot
ambassador of Dole Food Company created in 1992 to promote healthy
living around the world.
Christened today in the museum’s Department of Mascot Studies
Gallery and continuing through Sept. 30, 2024, “Bobby Banana:
Dole’s Healthy-Living Icon for a Hungry World” chronicles the
inception and growth of the exuberant, sneakers-wearing Cavendish
banana responsible for inspiring generations of kids and families
toward nutritious food choices and active lifestyles.
The National Mascot Hall of Fame is located in Whiting, Ind., 21
miles south of Chicago, and also maintains a virtual museum
honoring the 33 mascots it has inducted to date.
The three-month Bobby Banana display was timed by the museum to
coincide with Dole’s 125th Banana-Versary, a year-long celebration
of the global produce leader’s 125 years in the banana business
encompassing online, social, promotional, in-store and other
activities through 2024.
“While the focus of the National Mascot Hall of Fame has
traditionally been on college and professional sports mascots, we
can’t help but admire the work of corporate icons like Dole’s Bobby
Banana who have helped electrify and inspire progress toward a
better, healthier and more equitable world,” said Karen Anaszewicz,
the museum’s executive director. “Once we heard about this year’s
Dole Banana-Versary, we knew the time was ripe to tell the Bobby
Banana story.”
According to Anaszewicz, Bobby Banana becomes the first globally
known corporate mascot to be displayed in the five-year history of
the National Mascot Hall of Fame.
“After years of requests, we have decided to start officially
inducting corporate mascots into the museum in 2025 as part of our
expanded commitment to telling the full mascot story,” she said.
“More details on this exciting evolution for the National Mascot
Hall of Fame will be announced soon – so stay tuned!”
Bil Goldfield, Dole’s director of corporate communications,
helped develop the exhibit, which includes a series of illuminated
display panels offering information about Bobby Banana, Dole Food
Company and the Banana-Versary.
“We’ve had many dialogues with the National Mascot Hall of Fame
over the years, so to finally see the display christened and
welcoming guests is a major thrill – for me, Bobby and everyone at
Dole,” he said. “This day instantly becomes a highlight of our
Banana-Versary.”
The National Mascot Hall of Fame is open Tuesday through
Thursday from 10am to 3pm, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 5pm,
and is closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is $8-10. For visitor
information, go to https://mascothalloffame.com/visit/.
For information about Dole’s 125th Banana-Versary, go to the
celebration page.
About the National Mascot Hall of
Fame
The National Mascot Hall of Fame, the only hall of fame honoring
sports and collegiate mascots, celebrates mascots in an interactive
children’s museum that incorporates STEAM based exhibits and
programs to inspire children to learn through fun. For information,
visit https://mascothalloffame.com/.
About Dole plc
Dole plc, is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers
of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an
industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in
nutrition education. For more information, please visit
www.dole.com.
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Bob Ochsner Sophia’s Choice for Dole (949) 233-0984