The Energizer Bunny is the marketing icon and mascot of Energizer batteries in North America. It is a pink toy rabbit wearing sunglasses and blue and white striped sandals that beats a bass drum bearing the Energizer logo. It is a parody of the preexistent Duracell Bunny, still seen in Europe and Australia. It has been appearing in television commercials in North America since 1989. The mascot is promoted as being able to continue operating indefinitely, or at least much longer than similar toys using rival brands' batteries. The American Energizer commercials, produced by D.D.B. Chicago Advertising, originally began as a parody of TV advertisements for rival Duracell. In the Duracell ads, a set of battery-powered drum-playing toy rabbits gradually slow to a halt until only the toy powered by a copper-top battery remains active. In Energizer's parody, the Energizer Bunny then enters the screen beating a huge bass drum and swinging a mallet over his head. The criticism was that Duracell compared their batteries with carbon-zinc batteries, and not similar alkaline batteries like Energizer.