When
I first glanced at this assignment I seen the word icon and assumed
that I was going to choose three pictures. However, I have come to
learn that an icon is far more than an image. Icons can be people or
things, but they always represent something larger. Something is
able to reach icon status when it impresses the public, the person
that has it in his/her possession does not allow it to be touched in
a literal means, and there is an emotional attachment to the item
that can border on obsession. My three examples of icons come from a
very strange place that most people don't consider. Icons can come
in any shape or size and from any place. I have choose my icons from
the front of cereal boxes. Characters that are seen as children and
remembered as adults. The three cereal icons that I selected are:
Snap, Crackle, and Pop; Tony the Tiger; and the Trix Rabbit.
Snap,
Crackle, and Pop are amazingly over 60 years old. Snap was the first
to appear in 1933 as a gnome. Snap was illustrated by Vernon Grant
who also painted and drew thousands of magazines and books. Some say
his style influenced other famous artists such as Walt Disney.
Crackle and Pop were added in 1939, the three starred in movie
shorts, comic stripes, and on Kellogg's Rice Bubbles packs. They
also posed in military clothing during World War II urging customers
to "Save Time, Save Fuel, Save Work." In 1949 they were
changed to look more human with boyish haircuts and made to sound
more like children. Their first television commercial came in 1960
where they sang and danced. Their most popular song was recorded by
the Rolling Stones, released in 1963, and used by Kellogg's for four
years.
Tony
the Tiger first appeared in commercials in 1952 along side Katy the
Kangaroo, Elmo the Elephant, and Newt the Gnu. However, Tony the
Tiger is the only character that appeared on the Kellogg's Frosted
Flakes box. Dallas McKennon was the original voice of Tony the
Tiger. That privilige was then given to Thurl Ravenscroft who
recently passed away in May of 2005. Tony the Tiger is most famous
for saying, "They're Gr-r-reat!"
Trix
cereal received their character in 1959 when Joe Harris created the
Trix Rabbit. The creation of the Trix Rabbit including his catch
phrase "Silly Rabbit, Trix is for kids" immediately
icreased sales of the ceral. The Trix Rabbit first appeared in a
black and white commercial and has since became the oldest commercial
mascot to continue to exist on commercial television and on the
cereal box. His commercials involve him wearing a variety of
disguises in an attempt to trick kids into giving him the ceral, but
there are only a hand full of times that the rabbit was able to eat
the cereal. The Trix Rabbit is so popular that his catch phrase was
used in the movie "Kill Bill" and is spoofed in the
television show "Family Guy." Who doesn't love this silly
rabbit?
References:
Kellogg's.
(n.d.). The history of Snap, Crackle, and Pop! Retrieved
February 21,2012 from
http://www.kelloggs.com.au/Default.aspx?TabId=477&PrintPage=true&.
Rabbit
World View. (n.d.). The Trix Rabbit. Retrieved February 21,
2012 from
http://www.rabbitworldview.com/trixrabbit.php.
Topher's
Castle. (n.d.). Topher's Breakfast Cereal Character Guide.
Retrieved February 21, 2012 from
http://www.lavasurfer.com/cereal-kelloggs.html.
