Tuesday, May 24, 2005

To The Great Cereal Bowl In The Sky

When I was a kid, my mother nicknamed me Tiger. I am not sure why. Maybe it was that time I ran down and ate a wild boar when I was eight. Whatever, the nickname didn't stick. But, because of it, I had a special affinity for Tony the Tiger. I ate Frosted Flakes all the fucking time. They were grrrrrreeeeaaat! All that healthy sugar goodness. I'd eat a bowl and be jacked up for the whole day.

And so it was with great sadness that I read today that Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger, died. I don't watch much daytime or morning TV, but it seems like you don't see a lot of cereal advertising these days. Certainly not commercials featuring the cool cartoon characters shilling cereal that we grew up with. Back when I was a kid, I'd do anything a cartoon character told me to do. I robbed a 7-11 when I was nine because of some mixed messages in a Chilly Willy cartoon. (As you can see, I had a normal childhood.)

Although Tony the Tiger was a favorite of mine, he was not my favorite cartoon cereal pitchman. No, that goes to Sugar Bear (now named "Golden Bear"...PC bullshit...), who pitched Sugar Crisps (now called "Golden Crisps"...PC bullshit...). He was this hipster, suave bear who was always having his delicious cereal jacked by a variety of miscreants, such as the Sugar Crisp Fox, the Sugar Crisp Snake, the Sugar Crisp Crook and the ever nefarious Granny Goodwitch. When that happened, he'd basically beat the crap out them and get his Sugar Golden Crisps back (singing his jazzy tagline, "Can't get enough Super Sugar Crisp/It's got the crunch with punch!"). Except Granny. Her, he'd just rob or trick. What a gentleman.

Any favorite cartoon cereal pitchmen/pitchwomen?

6 Comments:

Blogger Charlie said...

I was a big fan of a slightly more obscure cereal called Crispy Critters. I remember only bits and pieces of the song ...

"Oh, here come Crispy Critters, how do you do ..."

"... It's indubitably, INDUBITABLY, delicious!"

Come to think of it, I am not sure I ever ate Crispy Critters, and I think it may have come out when I was too old to eat animal-shaped cereal. But I wasn't too old for that catchy theme song!

2:55 PM  
Blogger Earl Cootie said...

I was a Toucan Sam fan - probably because he was so snooty (ouch, sorry) - and I was an elitist even back then. Although, I recall being very excited about the Quangaroos kangaroo (I don't remember his name) when he got his spokesanimal job - I think because he was orange and spotty. I was pretty crazy for anything orange.

11:58 PM  
Blogger Stefanie said...

I always felt sorry for the Trix rabbit. But I actually saw the commercial where the little girl let him eat Trix. I saw it! It was in 1985 or so, I think.

2:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Boo Berry (one of Count Chocula's cronies) was a complex, toubled sort. I related to him.

7:47 AM  
Blogger Henry Baum said...

I wasn't allowed to eat sugar cereals. Cry for me. When I got to, I liked honey smacks with dig 'em frog. He might have been a ripoff of sugar bear.

Googling, I discovered this:

Dr. Who

I wish I was a British kid.

11:56 AM  
Blogger Magazine Man said...

Oh no! That's truly sad news. This is probably mentioned in the story you linked to, but he was also the guy who did the songs in the Grinch TV special (Boris Karloff narrated, but it's definitely Tony the Tiger singing "You're a mean one, Missstah Grinch...you're a nasty-wasty skunk!"). I feel sad now...

11:01 PM  

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