Michael Bryan

Written by Michael Bryan

Modified & Updated: 23 Feb 2024

Jessica Corbett

Reviewed by Jessica Corbett

kellogg's frosted flakes, tony the tiger

Tony the Tiger is probably one of the most famous mascots and breakfast icons today. If you’ve had some Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes for breakfast, you definitely wouldn’t miss the bright orange tiger mascot printed on the cereal box. Ever since the introduction of Tony the Tiger as the mascot, people around the world started to love cereals. And even a notable portion of people choosing cereals to jumpstart their morning. Here are 30 Tony the Tiger facts for you to start your day right!

  1. Tony the Tiger first appeared to the public in 1952.
  2. Tony the Tiger underwent a major evolution in the last 50 years.
  3. In 1974, Tony became the “Tiger of the Year” in an advertising campaign taken from the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
  4. In 1958, Tony the Tiger joined numerous popular mascots to promote the pre-sweetened cereals.
  5. Tony started to get “humanized” in 1970 where he received his nationality as well as having a family.
  1. The Kellogg’s Company created Tony the Tiger.
  2. Tony the Tiger is the official advertising mascot of the company for its Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes.
  3. Tony is also the mascot for the company’s other cereal products such as Tiger Power and Tony’s Cinnamon Krunchers.
  4. The original Tony the Tiger drawing came from the former Disney animator Quartet Films.
  5. In the 50s, Tony the Tiger appeared on Kellogg cereal boxes with Hanna-Barbera characters such as Snagglepuss and Huckleberry Hound.
  6. The late ’50s is the era of mass media and marketing and the rise of the food production industry where Tony the Tiger capitalized.
  7. Part of the main goals of the company during the launch of Tony is to mass-produce a flavored cereal that has a “delicious and distinctive flavor.”
  8. Tony the Tiger is arguably the most iconic breakfast icon today.
  9. Since Tony’s launch, consumers started to eat more Frosted Flakes each week for their breakfast.
  10. Tony usually appears in American TV commercials as an animated character that’s placed in a live-action world.

  1. For quite a while, the UK used the rock song “Eye of the Tiger” to promote Tony the Tiger.
  2. The company proclaimed January 1974 – February 1075 as “This is the Year of the Tiger and Tony is the Tiger of the Year.”
  3. In 1958, Tony reached out to all the children sports organizations in the US through its campaign, “Put a Tiger on Your Team.”
  4. Tony is one of the most beloved figures among the young Italian-American people.
  5. Tony the Tiger can interact with other live characters using rotoscoped. Rotoscoping is an animation technique for animators to trace over motion picture footage and to create realistic action.

Table of Contents

Tony The Tiger Facts Infographics

Tony The Tiger Facts Infographics

Tony the Tiger is half American and half Italian.

Tony the Tiger is Italian-American. The Kellogg Company said that Tony even has a big Italian family during the 70s. This was appreciated by the Italian-language news magazine, Panorama, as well as Italian GQ.

Tony's original body built changed from a slender to a muscular figure.

tony the tiger, before and after
Image from Kellogg Official Website

The original feature of Tony the Tiger is a little cartoony with a slender body and a football-shaped head.  Now, he has a softer and round head with a muscular body. His previously green eyes are yellow.

Kolkey and his associates designed the mascot of Tony the tiger.

In 1951, Eugene Kolkey and his associates joined the Kellogg’s contest for the official mascot of this brand new breakfast cereal. Eugene, the expert graphic artist designed the tiger and gave him the name ‘Tony’, while the illustrator Martin Provensen completed the final touch. They won the contest, with Kellogg’s using their winning work.

The company had 4 mascots to choose from.

Tony the Tiger battled it out against 3 other mascot applicants. Before Tony “got the job,” the other mascots in the company’s list were Elmo the Elephant, Katy the Kangaroo, and Newt the Gnu.

Tony the Tiger has a family.

Yes, that’s right Tony the Tiger has a family: Tony’s spouse is Mrs. Tony, his son is named Tony Jr., his daughter is Antoinette, and his mother is Mama Tony. Sweet Tony the Tiger facts!

The humanization of Tony the Tiger was a huge success.

When Tony the Tiger had a family and became humanized, it won the hearts of millions of kids. This happened especially when Antoinette the baby tigress was shown tasting Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes during its release.

Tony the Tiger has many voices.

American actor and voice actor, Dallas McKennon, was the first person to dub or voice Tony the Tiger from 1952 to 1953. He was followed by Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft from 1953 to 2005 along with Lee Marshall from 1999 to 2005. Today, Tom Clarke Hill (1999–present), Tex Brashear (2014–present), and Jim Cummings (2017–present) are the voices of Tony the Tiger. Interesting Tony the Tiger facts!

Frosted Flakes is always promoting good health, especially for children.

This cereal brand has been the most pro-active in promoting good health through athletics. Tony, on the other hand, is always an advocate of a great and healthy body. He continuously inspires children to get active.

Pillsbury Doughboy also came from the creator of Tony the Tiger.

pillsbury doughboy
Photo in Public Domain

Pillsbury is one of the largest producers of grain, bread, biscuits, and other foodstuffs. The Leo Burnett Worldwide Inc. is the creator of Pillsbury Doughboy Mascot and Tony the Tiger. This well-known advertising company is also the home of the Rice Krispies Elves, Jolly Green Giant, and Toucan Sam.

The company removed the word "Sugar" in its brand name.

The company’s original name for its cereal used to be, ‘Sugar Frosted Flakes’ until the year 1983. Now, it’s known as Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes or simply Frosted Flakes. They perhaps realized that sugar is not a very healthy breakfast. Nevertheless, if you wanted no sugar, Kellogg offers an alternative product that has zero sugar such as W. K. Kellogg No Added Sugar* Granola Coconut, Cashew & Almond and W. K. Kellogg No Added Sugar* Granola Apricot & Pumpkin Seed.

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