Charles Schulz's Snoopy out as MetLife mascot

After decades of appearing in ads for the company, the late Santa Rosa cartoonist Charles Schulz's beloved 'Peanuts' character is being shown the door.|
CHRISTINE HAUSER?AND SAPNA MAHESHWARI
NEW YORK TIMES

MetLife is firing Snoopy.

After more than 30 years of appearing in print ads, TV commercials, marketing materials and on the sides of MetLife’s blimps, the late Santa Rosa cartoonist Charles Schulz’s beloved “Peanuts” character is being shown the door.

No more big-nosed beagle in the flight cap and goggles chasing the Red Baron on Metlife’s airship. No more TV commercials featuring a smiling Snoopy navigating life’s treacherous waters to sell insurance. Cuddly Snoopy hitting a home run? Out.

MetLife, one of the largest insurance companies in the world with 100 million customers worldwide, said the move is part of an effort to update its corporate emblem for international competition.

The global chief marketing officer for MetLife, Esther Lee, announced the change Thursday, saying that Snoopy was adopted as a symbol in 1985 to make the company seem “more friendly and approachable during a time when insurance companies were seen as cold and distant.”

“We have great respect for these iconic characters,” Lee said. “However, as we focus on our future, it’s important that we associate our brand directly with the work we do and the partnership we have with our customers.”

The company said it wanted a “clean, modern” design that included the colors blue and green to “represent life, renewal and energy.” They form what the company has called “the partnership M.”

The broader MetLife brand palette was expanded to include a range of vibrant secondary colors, reflecting “the diverse lives of its customers.”There is also a new tagline, “MetLife: Navigating life together,” replacing the old “Get Met. It Pays.”

Already, the company’s website shows no sign of the floppy-eared dog whose adventurous daydreams won the hearts of multiple generations of Americans.

The company called the decision the “most significant change” to the brand in decades. When consumers were asked about associations with the characters they did not associate the “Peanuts” characters with leadership or responsibility.

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