UPDATE - April 18, 2019: High Liner Canada has confirmed their famous mascot is getting a fresh look to coincide with the company's 120th anniversary.
"It was never about creating a new captain or changing him too much. We wanted people to see what was always there. He's the captain Canadians know and love. We just let him shine with a trim and a fresh wardrobe," Craig Murray, the company's senior vice-president of marketing and innovation, said in a news release.
EARLIER:
Captain High Liner, the Canadian seafood company's iconic mascot, has gotten a major revamp.
Ottawa-based artist and avid Twitter user Andrew King posted about the update on his account.
"THEY REMOVED CAPTAIN HIGHLINER'S CAPTAIN HAT AND TURTLENECK... now he looks like that well groomed and fit grandpa guy at a hipster bar," the tweet reads, along with a photo comparing the old and new versions of the mascot.
None of High Liner's social media platforms display the new mascot, nor does its website, but King confirmed he took the pictures at a Metro grocery store in Ottawa.
King shared a video of the new captain on boxes of wild-caught haddock bites, next to other High Liner products with the older image.
Pretty hot silver fox
Many on social media were quick to point out that the new captain is... a pretty hot silver fox and would be very successful on Tinder or Grindr dating apps.
King's personal theory is that the makeover is designed to subliminally encourage consumers to buy High Liner products because the captain redesign follows the "golden ratio" of a perfect face.
Captain High Liner joins other corporate rebrands. In 2017, Mr. Clean was turned into a sex symbol by its parent company.
"Mr. Clean gets dirty. Mr. Clean proves he's got what it takes to satisfy your needs in every room of the house," Procter & Gamble said at the time. "Mr. Clean is showing off his strong and sexy side."
KFC's famous Colonel Sanders β who is based on an actual person β was turned into a certified hottie earlier this month as well, as he became an Instagram influencer who doesn't really look like he gorges on fried chicken every meal and goes to the gym on a daily basis.
Luckily, his influence is temporary, sticking around until only April 22.
While sexualizing male mascots seems to be "in" now, people have been sexualizing female mascots for ages, including the Sun-Maid Girl, the Green M&M, Miss Chiquita, sweet, wholesome Aunt Jemima and Wendy, a literal child.
So if Ronald McDonald wants to swap out his jumpsuit for something a little more flattering, it's probably just evening the scales.
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