When you’re a kid, nothing is more sacred than morning breakfast cereal. Okay, there are probably some more sacred things, but breakfast cereal is definitely up there. Though today’s parents are much more focused on healthy eating for their children, and have caught on that their kids’ favorite cereals are really just a sugar rush, back in the day every cereal was marketed as being part of a complete breakfast, which apparently parents took to mean “healthy” as we all ate these cereals. But while the tasty (sugary) deliciousness was certainly part of the appeal of these cereals for kids, what really sold them were the fantastic mascots on the boxes and in the commercials. They were, to put it simply, grrrrrreat!
So today, we’re going to count down the top 10 cartoon cereal mascots that still make us want to pour milk over a bowl of our most treasured cereals. Read on to find out if your favorite made it to number one.
10. Dig ‘Em Frog - Honey Smacks
The original version of this cereal, Sugar Smacks, was introduced in 1953, but by the late ‘70s, the name was changed to Honey Smacks, and a new mascot was introduced along with the new name — the Dig ‘Em Frog. This hip new fun-loving animated frog began appearing in commercials in 1972, and quickly grew in popularity among kids. Still, for some reason the company decided to retire the frog in 1986 in favor of a new bear mascot. But, after many protests, Dig ‘Em was brought back in 1987. Can’t keep a good frog down.
9. Sonny the Cuckoo Bird - Cocoa Puffs
Since 1962, Sonny has been “cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” — and so have we! When Sonny was first introduced, he wasn’t alone. He originally appeared with his grandfather in television commercials, and rather than proper names, they always referred to each other as Gramps and Sonny. Later, when Gramps was dropped from the advertising, Sonny stuck as the cuckoo bird’s name. His design has evolved over the generations, from wearing a pink and white-striped shirt to more “extreme” clothing in the mid-90s, to a more “natural” look as of 2004 with no clothes.
8. Toucan Sam - Froot Loops
Since the cereal’s inception in 1963, Toucan Sam has been the mascot for Froot Loops. Toucan Sam is notorious for being able to sniff out Froot Loops cereal with his large nose — “Follow your nose! It always knows!” Though his design has changed a bit over the years, he’s always had a few mainstays — red/pink stripes on his nose, and a blue body. In the original commercials, Toucan Sam was voiced by famed voiceover artist Mel Blanc. You know, just the voice of little characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig, to name a few.
7. Count Chocula - Count Chocula
Since the early ‘70s, General Mills has been producing a “monster” line of cereals that come out for a limited time during the Halloween season. The most iconic of these monsters is undoubtedly Count Chocula, a cartoon vampire with a taste for chocolate cereal. His counterpart, Franken Berry, appeared in the initial commercials with him, where they would bicker over which cereal was better. These two cereals, along with Boo Berry, are still produced each Halloween season, while the other two monster cereals, Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy have both been discontinued.
6. Snap, Crackle, & Pop - Rice Krispies
Rice Krispies have been around since 1928, and the mascots Snap, Crackle, and Pop were first introduced not long after in the ‘30s. Snap is the eldest of the bunch, and was the first to appear on the packaging. Crackle and Pop joined him not long after, though in the beginning they were designed as more elderly, gnome-like creatures with large noses, ears, and hats. In 1949, they were reimagined as younger, and by 1955 were redesigned to be more elf-like with pointed ears. They’ve looked pretty similar ever since!
5. Buzz the Bee - Honey Nut Cheerios
Honey Nut Cheerios have been around since 1979, and have featured their bee mascot since the beginning. But did you know that he didn’t have a name until the year 2000? It’s true! In September 1999, General Mills conducted a nationwide contest to name the bee for children between the ages of 5 and 12. In April 2000, Kristine Tong won the contest with her entry — BuzzBee. More recently, his name has been shortened to just Buzz.
4. Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch - Cap’n Crunch
Interestingly, Quaker Oats had the marketing plan ready to go for Cap’n Crunch before they developed the flavor in 1963. The Captain’s full name and history was revealed in a 2013 article in The Washington Post. Horatio Magellan Crunch hails from Crunch Island, a magical island in the Sea of Milk. He captains a ship called the Guppy and is depicted as an 18th-century naval captain with a Napoleon-style hat, and large white mustache and eyebrows.
3. Tricks - Trix
General Mills debuted their Trix cereal in 1954, and a few years later decided it was time it had its own mascot — the silly rabbit, Tricks, appeared in his first commercial in 1959 with the iconic tagline, “Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!” Tricks is always trying to get his hands on some Trix, but is almost always outsmarted by some kids who tell him he can’t eat the cereal. He does manage to get his hands on it every now and then, but the tagline has had some real staying power and is still used to this day.
2. Lucky the Leprechaun - Lucky Charms
Since its inception in 1964, the Irish leprechaun Lucky has been the mascot for Lucky Charms, though he has been known by some different names like Sir Charms and LC Leprechaun. He’s had different variations on a couple catch phrases throughout the years, from the iconic “It’s magically delicious” to “You’ll never get me lucky charms.” If you check out the Lucky Charms website, they have a whole history about Lucky’s magical homeland and these special charms he has brought to the real world, apparently in the form of delicious cereal — who knew!
1. Tony the Tiger - Frosted Flakes
With their new Frosted Flakes cereal set to debut in 1952, in 1951 Kellogg’s held a contest for people to submit possible mascots. Eugene Kolkey came up with the idea for Tony the Tiger, and with the help of a couple other artists, Edward Kern and Martin Provensen, brought him to life. Tony competed with three other possible mascots — Katy the Kangaroo, Elmo the Elephant, and Newt the Gnu — but soon enough, Tony emerged victorious. What really has made him such an iconic mascot, though, are the commercials where he declares that Frosted Flakes are “grrreat!” The success is thanks in large part to the deep bass voice of Thurl Ravenscroft, who voiced Tony for five decades before he passed away. Tony is definitely one of if not the most recognizable mascots, so we just had to put him at number one.
- Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger, was also the person who sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” in the classic Christmas television special, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! He also provided some voices for attractions at Disneyland, including the lead vocals of the singing busts at the Haunted Mansion.
- In 2017, to draw attention to how pollinators have been struggling in the wild, Honey Nut Cheerios removed Buzz from their boxes, leaving a blank outline in his place. General Mills stated that 30% of the ingredients they use require pollinators, and that they also planned to expand their pollinator habitat to 3,300 acres.
- Cocoa Puffs and Trix cereals are essentially just chocolate and fruit flavored versions of General Mills’ other cereal, Kix. Eventually, Trix changed their cereal shape from plain spheres to actual fruit shapes, so they don’t look quite as Kix-y anymore.
- In the ‘70s, Cap’n Crunch had a variation called Cinnamon Crunch whose mascot was a character named Jean LaFoote, whose name is a play on the historical pirate Jean Lafitte. This cereal didn’t last very long, though, and most people today don’t remember this other character.
- In the 1950s, there was a fourth gnome that joined Snap, Crackle, and Pop for Rice Krispies called Pow, who was meant to represent the explosive nutritional value of Rice Krispies.
- Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger, was also the person who sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” in the classic Christmas television special, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! He also provided some voices for attractions at Disneyland, including the lead vocals of the singing busts at the Haunted Mansion.
- In 2017, to draw attention to how pollinators have been struggling in the wild, Honey Nut Cheerios removed Buzz from their boxes, leaving a blank outline in his place. General Mills stated that 30% of the ingredients they use require pollinators, and that they also planned to expand their pollinator habitat to 3,300 acres.
- Cocoa Puffs and Trix cereals are essentially just chocolate and fruit flavored versions of General Mills’ other cereal, Kix. Eventually, Trix changed their cereal shape from plain spheres to actual fruit shapes, so they don’t look quite as Kix-y anymore.
- In the ‘70s, Cap’n Crunch had a variation called Cinnamon Crunch whose mascot was a character named Jean LaFoote, whose name is a play on the historical pirate Jean Lafitte. This cereal didn’t last very long, though, and most people today don’t remember this other character.
- In the 1950s, there was a fourth gnome that joined Snap, Crackle, and Pop for Rice Krispies called Pow, who was meant to represent the explosive nutritional value of Rice Krispies.
1 thought on “The Top 10 Best Cartoon Cereal Mascots – Ranked”
Toni an all time favorite
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