If you’ve been on Spotify over the past few weeks, perhaps you’ve noticed a familiar-looking, monocled fellow cutting in and out of your sweet sounds every now and then.

No, I am not talking about Mr. Monopoly; I am talking about the other guy with the monocle – Mr. Peanut.

Mr. Peanut, poised coolly behind two turntables, has been popping up and offering me mixes (for you young folks, that’s what you’d call a playlist). Mr. Peanut has mixes for commuting. Mixes for faxing. Mixes for team-building. Mixes for yard work. And the list goes on and on. It’s a pretty smart yet subtle tie-in to mixed nuts. And Mr. Peanut looks even cooler behind the turntable when I have some old school beats pumping in the background It’s one of the more interesting forays into streaming radio advertising.

When you click on the ads, they lead you to a website promoting their new Nut-rition Sustaining Energy Mixes and giving you a few “motivational” tips. This is a great example of speaking directly to your target audience (tired people tapping away at their computers) about what is relevant to them (getting what you need to sustain your energy level throughout the day, whether that be via music or nuts) at the relevant time (during work hours).

I like everything about it except for Mr. Peanut’s new voice, which is annoying and un-cool, and does not match the icon’s turntable persona. Apparently the voice replaced Robert Downy, Jr., a much cooler cat, but maybe not even enough to be behind a turntable.

But this is a minor quibble. All in all, it is the best marketing effort I’ve seen on streaming radio as of yet. It will be interesting to see what else comes down the pike now that the bar has been set.

Well done, Planters. I may just try your new product next time I’m in the snack aisle.