Four Great Cereal Mascots
When it comes to cereal mascots, we all know the big mainstream ones. We all know about Tony the Tiger (“They’re grrrreat!”), the Trix Rabbit (“Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids!”), and Lucky the Leprechaun (“They’re after me Lucky Charms!”). These are the cereal mascots that anybody who has ever been in an American grocery store knows and can recognize. We’ve all seen the commercials and we’ve probably all eaten the cereal at one point or another. They’re all over the place. But what about the obscure cereal mascots? There are some that perhaps hover at the edges of your consciousness, seen on television commercials when you were so young that you’re not sure whether or not you fabricated the memory. How do they stack up?
FOUR: Dig ‘Em
Dig ‘Em is the frog from the Smacks cereal. He sound like he has a frog in his throat, and he loves Smacks. There’s not much else to tell. He looks and acts like a kid that loves the Smacks cereal. The main reason that I’m including him is that there is something very bleedingly 90s about him. I’m not sure what it is. It could be that weird baseball cap. Or it could be the voice, which sounds way too deep and throaty for a tiny frog — that voice actor has to be 6’3” and weigh at least two hundred and fifty pounds. He also clearly smokes, and I don’t mean a casual smoker. That guy has gotta be inhaling at least two packs of Marlboros every day.
THREE: The Craver The Craver WANTS SOME HONEYCOMBS so give him some before he kills us all. I’m including him because he acts like the cold cereal version of Charles Manson which is scary but also kind of amazing.
TWO: The Cookie Crook, Cookie Cop, and Chip The Dog There is not a single person who grew up watching television in the 90s who does not remember Cookie Crisp. Even if you never actually ate cookie crisp, it doesn’t matter. You know the name of the cereal. And the reason you know it is because every day, you’d see this commercial, with a Cookie Crook trying to steal cookie crisp. He’d inevitably be caught by the Cookie Cop, and then Chip the Dog would howl “Coo-oooookie crisp!” and the commercial would end. Even if you don’t like cold cereal, this is still burned into your hippocampus because of that stupid cartoon dog.
ONE: Count Chocula
Count Chocula is the best cereal mascot there is, period. In fact, he’s even better than the really well-known ones because he’s less mainstream. Part of it is the sheer weirdness of picking someone like him. Tony the Tiger makes sense because using cartoon animals as a mascot is about the most obvious thing that you can do. Lucky from Lucky Charms makes sense because a leprechaun is a natural choice for a cereal involving good luck and charms. But… a Count Dracula spinoff for a chocolate cereal with marshmallows? And his name is Count “Chocula” for some reason? Who thought this up? Regardless, you still see people wearing Count Chocula t shirts, of all things, so he’s a clear winner.
