Newt

In the early years, Hillyard used a little guy affectionately referred to as “Newt” in honor of its founder, Newton S. Hillyard. The company mascot was designed to portray “the Hillyard Maintaineer,” serving as a floor treatment consultant in promotional literature and product packaging. The strategy inferred that Newt was “on your staff, not on your payroll!” Newt’s high hat was a replica of the traditional, 55-gallon checkerboard Hillyard drum, the company’s longtime signature container. For a period of time, the mascot’s spelling was changed to “Neut” as a reference to the neutral cleaning properties of Hillyard’s most famous early years product, Shine-All. “Newt” became, for many years, the icon in the company’s marketing and promotional campaigns.