Robert Downey Jr. drives me nuts! OK, ok, so most Life On The Scene readers already know that, but literally, he’s gone nutty this time. Mr. Peanut will speak in a new ad campaign as Kraft Foods and Planters launch an image makeover with the Golden Globe® winning actor of  Sherlock Holmes and the Iron Man movies gives him a voice.

Robert Downey Jr

Kris Wixom, a creative director at Being, the advertising company behind the campaign, tells the New York Times that Downey, Jr. was chosen because of his “everyman suaveness” and because he has “a voice that could wear the top hat, monocle and cane and still feel contemporary and cool.”

“At Planters, we know how to throw a remarkable holiday party,” Mr. Peanut says in the ad. “Just serve classy snacks and be a gracious host — no matter who shows up.”

Mr. Peanut must fend off party guest Richard the Nutcracker. Fortunately, judging by his bandaged noggin, Mr. Peanut just a week earlier proved a tough nut to crack.

“Well, forgive and forget,” Mr. Peanut says before wielding his cane like a weapon — lodging it into Richard’s lethal mouth — and cracking wise as he escapes a social jam.

The animated commercials will begin airing on Tuesday and can be viewed on Mr. Peanuts Facebook page now.

I actually keep an antique glass Mr. Peanut jar in my bathroom at home to hold Q-Tips! Another chance to hear Robert Downey Jr.’s voice on a regular basis advertising a product I’ve always enjoyed is indeed a win-win scenario for me. He looks so cute as a peanut, I could just nibble him right up!

There is also a Seasons Greetings ad featuring Robert Downey Jr. as Mr. Peanut singing Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire.