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{{Short description|Mascot for the Pillsbury Company}}
:''For the slang term for American soldiers in World War I and earlier, see [[doughboy]].''
{{Other uses|Doughboy (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Pillsbury Doughboy
| image = Poppin' Fresh the Pillsbury Doughboy.png
| image_size =
| caption =
| first = November 7, 1965<ref name="Pillsbury.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.pillsbury.com/doughboy|title=How Well Do You Know the Pillsbury Doughboy?|work=Pillsbury.com|access-date=2018-10-16|language=en|archive-date=2019-05-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506144214/https://www.pillsbury.com/doughboy|url-status=live}}</ref>
| last =
| creator = Rudy Perz
| portrayer =
| voice = {{ubl|[[Paul Frees]] <small>(1965–1986)</small>|[[Jeff Bergman]] <small>(1986–2014)</small>|[[JoBe Cerny]] <small>(2014–2019)</small>|Evan Mangiamele <small>(2019-Present)</small>}}
| full_name = Poppin' Fresh
| nickname =
| species = Anthropomorphic [[dough]]
| occupation =
| gender = Male
| title = Mascot of [[Pillsbury (brand)|Pillsbury Company]]
| family = [[#Pillsbury family|See section below]]
| spouse =
| significant_other =
| children =
| relatives =
}}


'''Poppin<nowiki>'</nowiki> Fresh''', the '''Pillsbury Doughboy''', is an advertising [[icon]] and [[mascot]] of [[The Pillsbury Company]], appearing in many of their commercials. He is a small [[anthropomorphic]] character apparently made out of [[dough]]. When poked in the stomach, a sign of affection and thanks for his excellent products, he lets out a soft, warm chuckle.
'''Poppin' Fresh''', more widely known as the '''Pillsbury Doughboy''', is an advertising [[mascot]] for the [[Pillsbury Company]], appearing in many of their commercials. Many commercials from 1965 until 2005 (together with some for [[GEICO]] between 2009 and 2017) ended with a human finger poking the Doughboy's belly. The Doughboy responds by giggling when his belly is poked (''Hoo-Hoo''!, or earlier on, a slight giggle "tee hee").<ref name="Pillsbury.com"/>


== Creation ==
== History ==
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 Cresent 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. Perz originally conceived Fresh as an animated figure, but changed his mind after seeing a stop-action titling technique used in the opening credits for ''The [[Dinah Shore]] Show.'' A 3-D Doughboy doll of clay was then created at a cost of $16,000. [[Paul Frees]] (the voice of ''Rocky and Bullwinkle''<nowiki>'</nowiki>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 50 of its products.


The Pillsbury Doughboy was created by Rudolph 'Rudy' Perz, a copywriter for Pillsbury's longtime advertising agency [[Leo Burnett]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=2015-04-04|title=Rudolph Perz, Creator of Pillsbury's Doughboy, Dies at 89|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/04/business/rudolph-perz-creator-of-pillsburys-doughboy-dies-at-89.html|access-date=2021-12-20|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2021-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220133030/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/04/business/rudolph-perz-creator-of-pillsburys-doughboy-dies-at-89.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cross |first1=Mary |title=A Century of American Icons: 100 Products and Slogans from the 20th-Century Consumer Culture |date=2002 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0313314810 |access-date=4 September 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/centuryofamerica00cros/page/143/ |pages=143–146}}</ref> Perz was sitting in his kitchen in the spring of 1965, under pressure to create an advertising campaign for Pillsbury's refrigerated dough product line (biscuits, dinner rolls, sweet rolls, and cookies). His copywriter, [[Carol H. Williams]], imagined a living doughboy popping out of a Pillsbury refrigerated dough can and wrote the campaign, "Say Hello to Poppin' Fresh Dough". Williams was inducted into the [[American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maheshwari |first=Sapna |date=2017-04-25 |title=An Ad Woman at the Top of an Industry That She Thinks Still Has Far to Go |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/business/carol-williams-advertising-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=2022-06-20 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2022-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620071003/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/business/carol-williams-advertising-hall-of-fame.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
After Frees' death in [[1986]], [[Jeff Bergman]], who also did the voiceover 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 ad campaign.


== Other ==
== Character ==
Originally named "Jonathan Pillsbury", the doughboy was given a scarf, a chef's hat, and two big blue eyes to distinguish him from the rolls, as well as a faint blush and a soft, warm chuckle when poked on the belly. The Doughboy was originally designed by Milt Schaffer
In the [[1970]]'s a girlfriend, Poppie, a son, Popper, another son, Bun Bun, a cat, Biscuit, a dog, Flapjack and a bachelor uncle, Rollie of Fresh were sold in [[Sears]] stores. Poppie also appeared in some commercials along with Fresh. Parodys of the adverts have also appeared on [[Newgrounds.com]].


Voice actor [[Paul Frees]] was chosen to be Fresh's voice.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dotz |first1=Warren |title=What a Character! 20th Century American Advertising Icons |last2=Morton |first2=Jim |date=1996 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=0-8118-0936-6 |page=109}}</ref> Stop-motion animator Jim Danforth was hired to animate him. The first Poppin' Fresh commercials aired in November 1965. Since then, [[Pillsbury Company|Pillsbury]] has used Poppin' Fresh in more than 600 commercials for more than fifty of its products. He also appeared in a [[Mastercard|MasterCard]]'s "Icons" commercial in 2005 during [[Super Bowl XXXIX]], with the [[Green Giant|Jolly Green Giant]], the [[Morton Salt]] Girl, the [[Vlasic Pickles|Vlasic]] stork, [[Charlie the Tuna]], [[Mr. Peanut]], [[General Mills monster-themed breakfast cereals|Count Chocula]], the [[Gorton's of Gloucester|Gorton's]] Fisherman, [[Chef Boyardee]], and [[Mr. Clean]] as some of the ten merchandising icons, depicted as having dinner together. He even appears in ads for the [[Got Milk?]] company and the [[Sprint Corporation|Sprint Phone Company]], and the [[GEICO]] insurance company. He also made a cameo appearance in the 1987 animation film ''[[The Puppetoon Movie]]''.
==References, Spoofs, Parodies, and Homages==
In [[Jhonen Vasquez]]'s comic ''[[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]]'', there are two styrofoam doughboys that resemble Fresh, which are Johnny's voices within, that soon grow apart. They have both been repainted, and are made of styrofoam.


After Frees' death in 1986, [[Jeff Bergman]] took over the role, until 2014.<ref name="Pillsbury.com" /> The high-pitched giggles were done by [[JoBe Cerny]] between 2014 and 2019.<ref name="ctribune">{{cite news |last=Giangrasse Kates |first=Joan |date=2012-08-01 |title=Fern Persons, 1910-2012, Worked for decades as actress in radio, TV, films, commercials and stage |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-01/news/ct-met-fern-parsons-obit-20120801_1_chicago-actor-chicago-story-actors-union |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802231546/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-01/news/ct-met-fern-parsons-obit-20120801_1_chicago-actor-chicago-story-actors-union |archive-date=2012-08-02 |access-date=2012-08-02 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> Evan Mangiamele has voiced the doughboy since 2019. In two adverts for the UK in 1976, British voice actor [[Peter Hawkins]] voiced the character.
⚫
== External links ==
* [http://www.tvacres.com/admascots_poppinfresh.htm TV Acres info about Poppin' Fresh Doughboy]
* [http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/1448 Doughboy Bloopers] on [http://www.newgrounds.com Newgrounds.com]


== Animation ==
⚫
[[Category:Advertising characters]]
Perz originally conceived the Doughboy as a cartoon animated figure but changed his mind after seeing a stop-motion technique used in the opening credits for ''The [[Dinah Shore]] Show''. Cascade Pictures was hired to create a three-dimensional Doughboy puppet at a cost of $16,000.
⚫
[[Category:Mascots]]

The Doughboy was brought to life with [[Stop motion|stop-motion]] [[animation]], using foam rubber puppets with ball and socket armatures inside for the body.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Heather |date=2022-08-28 |title=What Was It Like to Work on the Last Pillsbury Stop-Motion Animated Commercials? |url=https://advertisingweek.com/what-was-it-like-to-work-on-the-last-pillsbury-stop-motion-animated-commercials/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602085627/https://advertisingweek.com/what-was-it-like-to-work-on-the-last-pillsbury-stop-motion-animated-commercials/ |archive-date=2023-06-02 |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=advertisingweek.com}}</ref> The heads were typically made of resin, each with different mouth shapes or expression and animated using a replacement animation technique whereby the head would be swapped out frame-by-frame to match the mouth movements to the dialog.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fletcher |first=Joel |title=The End of the Stop-Motion Doughboy |date=2011-10-16 |work=The Crucible of Transmutationanecdotes about the creative process |url=https://www.joelfletcher.com/creative-process/?post=stop-motion-doughboy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426042356/https://www.joelfletcher.com/creative-process/?post=stop-motion-doughboy |archive-date=2024-04-26 |url-status=live}}</ref> Beginning in 1992, the animation technique was changed to CGI animation, and continues to be used in new ads.

==Pillsbury family==
In the 1970s, a Pillsbury Doughboy family was created and sold as dolls individually and in the form of various playsets.<ref name="stargate1">[http://users.stargate.net/~glshir/PLAY.HTM] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515154050/http://users.stargate.net/~glshir/PLAY.HTM|date=May 15, 2006}}</ref>

Included in the family are:
*Poppin' Fresh<ref name="stargate1"/>
*Poppie Fresh (a.k.a. Mrs. Poppin' Fresh, Pillsbury Doughgirl). It is debated among collectors as to whether Poppie is Poppin's wife, girlfriend, or sister.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.advertisingiconmuseum.com/inside/c5/3265067b.html |title=Pillsbury Dough Girl-Poppie Fresh-Pillsbury Co |publisher=Advertisingiconmuseum.com |access-date=2015-08-16 |archive-date=2021-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716195742/http://www.advertisingiconmuseum.com/inside/c5/3265067b.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="stargate1"/>
*Granpopper and Granmommer (grandparents)<ref name="stargate1"/>
*Popper (boy) and Bun-Bun (baby, girl)<ref name="stargate1"/>
*Flapjack (dog) and Biscuit (cat)<ref name="stargate1"/>
*Uncle Rollie<ref name="stargate1"/>

==Trademark conflict==
In May 2010, Pillsbury's lawyers served a cease and desist notice to My Dough Girl, LLC., a Salt Lake City, Utah cookie retailer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-11641-my-dough-girl-in-trademark-trouble-with-pillsbury.html |title=My Dough Girl in Trademark Trouble with Pillsbury |work=[[Salt Lake City Weekly]] |date=2010-07-06 |access-date=2015-08-16 |archive-date=2013-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109182208/http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-11641-my-dough-girl-in-trademark-trouble-with-pillsbury.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Some reported that an attorney for [[General Mills]] instructed her not to talk to the press.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100802/22585310464.shtml |title=Pillsbury Sends Cease & Desist to 'Dough Girl' Bakery |publisher=[[Techdirt]] |date=2010-08-03 |access-date=2015-08-16 |archive-date=2015-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910060659/https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100802/22585310464.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|33em}}

⚫
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070101092824/http://www.uspto.gov/go/kids/soundex/76163189.mp3 Audio file] ([[MP3]] format) of the Doughboy giggling
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110320205943/http://www.pillsbury.com/doughboy Character's official site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111101232724/http://www.blog.generalmills.com/2011/09/the-creation-of-poppin-fresh/ Official history of Poppin' Fresh from General Mills website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723012110/http://www.oldphoneman.com/DBourpics1.htm Pillsbury Family]

{{General Mills}}

[[Category:Corporate mascots]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Fictional chefs]]
⚫
[[Category:Fictional food characters]]
[[Category:Fictional humanoids]]
[[Category:Male characters in advertising]]
[[Category:Food advertising characters]]
⚫
[[Category:Mascots introduced in 1965]]

Latest revision as of 21:39, 29 April 2024

For other uses, see Doughboy (disambiguation).
Pillsbury Doughboy
First appearanceNovember 7, 1965[1]
Created byRudy Perz
Voiced by
In-universe information
Full namePoppin' Fresh
SpeciesAnthropomorphic dough
GenderMale
TitleMascot of Pillsbury Company
FamilySee section below

Poppin' Fresh, more widely known as the Pillsbury Doughboy, is an advertising mascot for the Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. Many commercials from 1965 until 2005 (together with some for GEICO between 2009 and 2017) ended with a human finger poking the Doughboy's belly. The Doughboy responds by giggling when his belly is poked (Hoo-Hoo!, or earlier on, a slight giggle "tee hee").[1]

History[edit]

The Pillsbury Doughboy was created by Rudolph 'Rudy' Perz, a copywriter for Pillsbury's longtime advertising agency Leo Burnett.[2][3] Perz was sitting in his kitchen in the spring of 1965, under pressure to create an advertising campaign for Pillsbury's refrigerated dough product line (biscuits, dinner rolls, sweet rolls, and cookies). His copywriter, Carol H. Williams, imagined a living doughboy popping out of a Pillsbury refrigerated dough can and wrote the campaign, "Say Hello to Poppin' Fresh Dough". Williams was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame in 2017.[4]

Character[edit]

Originally named "Jonathan Pillsbury", the doughboy was given a scarf, a chef's hat, and two big blue eyes to distinguish him from the rolls, as well as a faint blush and a soft, warm chuckle when poked on the belly. The Doughboy was originally designed by Milt Schaffer

Voice actor Paul Frees was chosen to be Fresh's voice.[5] Stop-motion animator Jim Danforth was hired to animate him. The first Poppin' Fresh commercials aired in November 1965. Since then, Pillsbury has used Poppin' Fresh in more than 600 commercials for more than fifty of its products. He also appeared in a MasterCard's "Icons" commercial in 2005 during Super Bowl XXXIX, with the Jolly Green Giant, the Morton Salt Girl, the Vlasic stork, Charlie the Tuna, Mr. Peanut, Count Chocula, the Gorton's Fisherman, Chef Boyardee, and Mr. Clean as some of the ten merchandising icons, depicted as having dinner together. He even appears in ads for the Got Milk? company and the Sprint Phone Company, and the GEICO insurance company. He also made a cameo appearance in the 1987 animation film The Puppetoon Movie.

After Frees' death in 1986, Jeff Bergman took over the role, until 2014.[1] The high-pitched giggles were done by JoBe Cerny between 2014 and 2019.[6] Evan Mangiamele has voiced the doughboy since 2019. In two adverts for the UK in 1976, British voice actor Peter Hawkins voiced the character.

Animation[edit]

Perz originally conceived the Doughboy as a cartoon animated figure but changed his mind after seeing a stop-motion technique used in the opening credits for The Dinah Shore Show. Cascade Pictures was hired to create a three-dimensional Doughboy puppet at a cost of $16,000.

The Doughboy was brought to life with stop-motion animation, using foam rubber puppets with ball and socket armatures inside for the body.[7] The heads were typically made of resin, each with different mouth shapes or expression and animated using a replacement animation technique whereby the head would be swapped out frame-by-frame to match the mouth movements to the dialog.[8] Beginning in 1992, the animation technique was changed to CGI animation, and continues to be used in new ads.

Pillsbury family[edit]

In the 1970s, a Pillsbury Doughboy family was created and sold as dolls individually and in the form of various playsets.[9]

Included in the family are:

  • Poppin' Fresh[9]
  • Poppie Fresh (a.k.a. Mrs. Poppin' Fresh, Pillsbury Doughgirl). It is debated among collectors as to whether Poppie is Poppin's wife, girlfriend, or sister.[10][9]
  • Granpopper and Granmommer (grandparents)[9]
  • Popper (boy) and Bun-Bun (baby, girl)[9]
  • Flapjack (dog) and Biscuit (cat)[9]
  • Uncle Rollie[9]

Trademark conflict[edit]

In May 2010, Pillsbury's lawyers served a cease and desist notice to My Dough Girl, LLC., a Salt Lake City, Utah cookie retailer.[11] Some reported that an attorney for General Mills instructed her not to talk to the press.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "How Well Do You Know the Pillsbury Doughboy?". Pillsbury.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
  2. ^ Roberts, Sam (2015-04-04). "Rudolph Perz, Creator of Pillsbury's Doughboy, Dies at 89". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  3. ^ Cross, Mary (2002). A Century of American Icons: 100 Products and Slogans from the 20th-Century Consumer Culture. Greenwood Press. pp. 143–146. ISBN 978-0313314810. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  4. ^ Maheshwari, Sapna (2017-04-25). "An Ad Woman at the Top of an Industry That She Thinks Still Has Far to Go". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  5. ^ Dotz, Warren; Morton, Jim (1996). What a Character! 20th Century American Advertising Icons. Chronicle Books. p. 109. ISBN 0-8118-0936-6.
  6. ^ Giangrasse Kates, Joan (2012-08-01). "Fern Persons, 1910-2012, Worked for decades as actress in radio, TV, films, commercials and stage". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-08-02. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  7. ^ Taylor, Heather (2022-08-28). "What Was It Like to Work on the Last Pillsbury Stop-Motion Animated Commercials?". advertisingweek.com. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  8. ^ Fletcher, Joel (2011-10-16). "The End of the Stop-Motion Doughboy". The Crucible of Transmutationanecdotes about the creative process. Archived from the original on 2024-04-26.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g [1] Archived May 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Pillsbury Dough Girl-Poppie Fresh-Pillsbury Co". Advertisingiconmuseum.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
  11. ^ "My Dough Girl in Trademark Trouble with Pillsbury". Salt Lake City Weekly. 2010-07-06. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
  12. ^ "Pillsbury Sends Cease & Desist to 'Dough Girl' Bakery". Techdirt. 2010-08-03. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-08-16.

External links[edit]

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