The peanut company has decided to put a pause on all online marketing around the death of their mascot Mr Peanut following yesterday's tragic news that Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash.

Last week we told you that Planters had killed off it's mascot Mr Peanut in what was obviously just some viral marketing ploy to get people talking about Planters Peanut a week before the big game. Well, not a day after a very real and very famous death, Planters is reconsidering their ad campaign. 

In a statement released by Planters they had this to say: “We are saddened by this weekend’s news and Planters has paused all campaign activities, including paid media, and will evaluate next steps through a 

lens of sensitivity to those impacted by this tragedy."

Planters hits pause on Mr. Peanut's #SuperBowl funeral following Kobe Bryant's death https://t.co/IOJH8XzNshpic.twitter.com/iMKuTZT45L

— Ad Age (@adage) January 27, 2020

Currently there have been no changes to the Super Bowl ad itself, which will show a funeral for Mr Peanut, but the company has suspended all online promotion for the ad and is said to be 'considering their options.' 

Maybe funeral ads are just a bad idea always.

— AvidReader (@AvidRea57620154) January 27, 2020

But many people online think the very 'quirk' of having a funeral ad for a fake mascot is bad optics in and of itself, regardless if some real life person died. I mean, imagine a bunch of advertising executive trying to think of a way to sell us a product and coming up with "yeah lets kill him and have a funeral". Yes, that's it, death, just what our audience wanted. 

Sorry to break it to you but humans kill possibly billions of peanuts everyday

— Dorit Murciano (@doritnyc) January 27, 2020

Obviously Peanut's cannot die or be 'killed' and the absurdity of it all shines clearly through, the bad taste may be left in my mouth for longer than I'd like. 

It's almost like this whole marketing ploy was in bad taste from the beginning.

— Dadnon (@Dadnon) January 27, 2020