Arby’s Tries a Talking Mitt

Arby’s is turning to a cartoonish kitchen implement to help rescue its sagging brand recognition. The chain’s new animated character is named Oven Mitt. Goofy, assertive and a bit of a ham – much like Tom Arnold, the celebrity who is providing its voice – Mr. Mitt is Arby’s new spokesthing and will appear in an $85 million national advertising campaign, beginning Sunday. Turning over a brand identity to a nonhuman object, however, can be a risky marketing move in the fast-food business. The public may not warm up to Oven Mitt, just as they did not cotton to KFC’s trash-talking cartoon colonel and Domino’s Bad Andy, a puppet that was quickly relieved of his assignment.