PILLSBURY DOUGHBOY
Poppin' Fresh, "The Pillsburry Doughboy" , is an advertising icon and mascot of
The Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. He is a small
anthropoid character apparently made out of dough. When poked in the stomach, he
makes a short giggling noise, lightly grabs his stomach, and smiles.
Fresh was thought up by the Leo Burnett advertising agency's copywriter, Rudy
Perz, as he was sitting in his kitchen in 1965, under pressure to create an
advertising campaign. Perz imagined a living dough boy popping out of a
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls can. To distinguish the dough boy from the rolls he
gave it a scarf, a chef's hat, two big blue eyes, a blush when girls kissed him,
and a soft, warm chuckle when poked in the stomach. The Doughboy was originally
drawn by Martin Nodell and brought to life using stop motion clay animation.
Today, CGI is used.
Perz originally conceived Fresh as an animated figure, but changed his mind
after seeing a stop motion titling technique used in the opening credits for The
Dinah Shore Show. A three-dimensional Doughboy doll of clay was then created at
a cost of $16. Paul Frees (the voice of Rocky and Bullwinkle's Boris Badenov)
was chosen to be Fresh's voice. Since then, Pillsbury has used Poppin' Fresh in
more than 600 commercials for more than fifty of its products. After Paul Frees'
death in 1986, Dalton Benson Jr., (who also did the voice-over for Charlie the
Tuna), took over. Today, the high-pitched giggles are done by JoBe Cerny, the on-camera
star of Burnett's Cheer detergent advertising campaign.
At Christmas time, supermarkets use a refrigerator with the Doughboy, and now
can be activated with "Hear Me Giggle!" read out with a speech bubble, and sound
waves where the giggle is activated.
Poppin' Fresh, "The Pillsburry Doughboy" , is an advertising icon and mascot of
The Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. He is a small
anthropoid character apparently made out of dough. When poked in the stomach, he
makes a short giggling noise, lightly grabs his stomach, and smiles.
Fresh was thought up by the Leo Burnett advertising agency's copywriter, Rudy
Perz, as he was sitting in his kitchen in 1965, under pressure to create an
advertising campaign. Perz imagined a living dough boy popping out of a
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls can. To distinguish the dough boy from the rolls he
gave it a scarf, a chef's hat, two big blue eyes, a blush when girls kissed him,
and a soft, warm chuckle when poked in the stomach. The Doughboy was originally
drawn by Martin Nodell and brought to life using stop motion clay animation.
Today, CGI is used.
Perz originally conceived Fresh as an animated figure, but changed his mind
after seeing a stop motion titling technique used in the opening credits for The
Dinah Shore Show. A three-dimensional Doughboy doll of clay was then created at
a cost of $16. Paul Frees (the voice of Rocky and Bullwinkle's Boris Badenov)
was chosen to be Fresh's voice. Since then, Pillsbury has used Poppin' Fresh in
more than 600 commercials for more than fifty of its products. After Paul Frees'
death in 1986, Dalton Benson Jr., (who also did the voice-over for Charlie the
Tuna), took over. Today, the high-pitched giggles are done by JoBe Cerny, the on-camera
star of Burnett's Cheer detergent advertising campaign.
At Christmas time, supermarkets use a refrigerator with the Doughboy, and now
can be activated with "Hear Me Giggle!" read out with a speech bubble, and sound
waves where the giggle is activated.