Programming Trends

There are many things that catch a consumer's eye: the idea of prosperity, love, sex, fashion. something that should be considered is things that are cute. This should only be disregarded when it's about things that are subjectively cute, like a little ugly dog or reptiles - these things do not always elicit a positive response. You know what has been proven through evolution to be cute? People love babies

It goes back to what I just mentioned: evolution. So many different factors of our evolutionary design come to people adoring babies. It all stems from human babies being unable to protect themselves or run away. Most other species of mammals are functionally capable shortly after birth. Human babies have to be protected by other people.
Human babies have to be cute in order to survive
Now, babies are on the rise in media! What makes this list unique is that every single baby on this list is NOT human. These babies are on TV, on the movie screen, and on commercials. This is my hot take on the Baby Trend. SPOILERS AHEAD

Baby Yoda (the true name is unknown)

Image result for baby yoda

Image result for baby yoda memes
The hit Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, is (by my standards) amazing. It recently won 2 awards at the Visual Effects Society and for a good reason: Baby Yoda is incredibly cute! He has very human baby-like features, with his big eyes, chubby cheeks, and very little hair. His mannerisms are also very baby-like. One of the most interesting parts about the show is the memes that follow it. The Mandalorian, aka Mando, is the protagonist of the series, yet most memes of the show are about Baby Yoda.
Baby Yoda has definitely pushed the envelope of this Baby Craze, but there is one baby that started it all.

Baby Groot


Image result for baby groot
Image result for baby groot memeIn the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the cutest character is Baby Groot. Baby Groot made his (its?) first appearance at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy during the post-credit scenes. After that, he has been a staple in the series as well as the combined universe. Baby Groot has some baby-like features, again with the large eyes and his short body, but many of the features don't resemble a human baby. He appears malnourished with his nimble frame and he is not as helpless as many other babies are. His mannerisms appear much more similar to a five to an eight-year-old child and at other times he is capable of doing much more than a child his age should be able to do.

The memes following Baby Groot at the time of his appearance and subsequent films were all positive. People loved Baby Groot. Yet, Baby Yoda's appearance but a tamper on the love that Baby Groot was receiving.

Baby Mr. Peanut

Image result for baby mr peanut
Image result for baby mr peanut memesOn January 22nd of this year, Planters announced that Mr. Peanut had passed away on Twitter. In this video, we see Mr. Peanut sacrifice his life to save his friends after a wreck in the Nut Mobile. It was only on Feb 2nd during the Super Bowl that a commercial unveiled the funeral and subsequent rebirth of Mr. Peanut.

Baby Mr. Peanut is... well, its not cute. The other "babies" in this list have more baby-like and more human-like qualities. Both Baby Groot and Baby Yoda are aliens, yet the animators for Planters couldn't make an Earth legume look like a believable sentient baby. Also, the memes about Baby Mr. Peanut are incredibly negative. Planters saw the Baby Trend and they completely missed.

Final Thoughts

The Baby Trend has a lot of hype around it. Baby Groot introduced this "Babycentric" fan appeal with Baby Yoda cementing it as a true programming trend. I would advise market researchers to look at their brands and look at their TV series and see if implementing a baby would work best for their franchise, and above all else, actually spend the time doing it right.

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