• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Brands are finding a lot to love in Seattle’s newly famous rotund raccoon, nicknamed Jimothy. 

Jimothy was filmed by Kiana Hall, who posted a video of the raccoon on Instagram and named him Jimothy because “he looked like a Jimothy,” The Seattle Times reported.

The official Slim Jim account commented on a TikTok video of the raccoon, “Protect jimothy at all costs.” 

Goodyear recently drew attention with a post on X that read, “If Jimothy is crossing the road, your tires better be able to stop. Check your tread, Seattle.”

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s social efforts were covered by Good Morning America. 

Of all the brands to play off of a slow-moving raccoon, a tire company might be the most logical. But who needs logic when there’s a cute critter involved? 

“World of Warcraft, developed by Microsoft-owned Blizzard Entertainment, has also gotten in on the action, posting a virtual Jimothy waddling through one of the game’s forests,” according to MyNorthwest. 

Roku is another brand making a connection to Jimothy.

“Jimothy may call Seattle home, but he apparently enjoys the occasional vacation,” according to USA Today. “On July 21, streaming platform Roku announced in a Facebook post that "Jimothy made it all the way to Roku City," a reference to its panning screensaver that depicts a city full of pop cultural Easter eggs and other hidden gems.”

He has also built a following on Reddit, with many users discussing the raccoon on the /Seattle subreddit. 

“According to Reddit’s Community intelligence tool, the subreddit has received 29 million views from July 16 to July 22, and has been up 25 percent over the past six days because of Jimothy,” according to Inc. 

Jimothy even appeared in a graphic posted on social media by the official White House X account wearing a “Trump was right about everything” red baseball cap. The caption: “Jimothy spotted on the way to Washington D.C.!”

Marketing experts call the tactic “newsjacking” -- using a trending story to promote a product or message.

"In Goodyear’s case, the company tied a viral wildlife moment to tire safety, creating a post that felt relevant rather than forced," notes MyNorthwest. "But the trend also raises questions about where clever marketing ends and exploitation begins. As more companies try to capitalize on the same viral moment, social media can begin to feel less like a shared community and more like a stream of advertisements."