At 75, Snoopy has conquered the Gen Z market and collaborates with global, luxury brands
Snoopy’s enduring appeal continues to boost Peanuts’ brand now – it has more than 1,200 licensees around the world
Snoopy, probably the world’s most famous beagle, is having another moment. Created by US cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, the character from the Peanuts comic strip has lately been adorning all manner of merchandise, from pimple patches to luxury handbags.
Snoopy has always been a pop culture darling. Despite his owner, Charlie Brown, being the Peanuts strip’s main character and the namesake for most of the franchise’s adaptations, Snoopy was inarguably its breakout star. He was the winner of a 2001 New York Times poll about readers’ favourite Peanuts characters, with 35 per cent of the vote.
The veritable Snoopymania possessing today’s consumers exploded with the social media boom of the early 2010s, says Melissa Menta, senior vice-president of global brand and communications for Peanuts Worldwide.
“No one reads the comic strips in newspapers any more,” Menta says, “but if you think about it, a four-panel comic strip, it’s actually an Instagram carousel.”