U.S. Product Mascots, Slogans and Trademarks Quiz

Answer: September 9, 1890

Harland David Sanders was born on September 9, 1890 in Henryville, Indiana. He was just a young boy when his father died, causing his mother to take up more work, and causing him to look after his younger siblings. It wasn't until he was 40 years old that he began cooking and selling meals to travellers.

It took him 9 years to perfect what we know as, "the Colonel's secret recipe with 11 herbs and spices. In 1935, Governor Ruby Laffoon made him a Kentucky Colonel and in 1939, his small restaurant was listed in Duncan Hines' "Adventures in Good Eating."

Answer: Snap! Crackle! Pop!

"Snap! Crackle! Pop!" first appeared on cereal boxes in 1933, although the words, "Snap! Crackle! Pop!", had appeared in advertisements in 1932. "Tony the Tiger" first appeared in 1952, with three more animal mascots, "Elmo the Elephant", "Newt the Gnu", and "Katy the Kangaroo", in a contest to choose their mascot. Of course, Tony won us over, and he became the permanent mascot for "Kellogg's Frosted Flakes". Tony appeared for the first time in color, in an August 1953 issue of "Life" magazine. In 1958, the mascot, (a green rooster named Cornelius), for "Kellogg's Corn Flakes" made his first appearance. Toucan Sam, (the masoct for "Kellogg's Froot Loops"), made his debut in 1963. "Sunny", the mascot for "Kellogg's Raisin Bran", made his debut in 1966, and the mascot for "Kellogg's Sugar Smacks", "Dig 'Em", made his first appearance in 1972.

However, in 1986, he was replaced by "Wally the Bear". Kellogg's received many letters pleading for the return of "Dig 'Em", and in 1987, he came back as the mascot.

Answer: True

"Poppin' Fresh", (the tiny character with blue eyes and a baker's hat), was created in 1956 by Rudi Perz. Whenever someone in the commercials would poke his tummy, he giggled with a "Tee-hee!". In the 1970s, Pillsbury introduced "Mrs. Poppin' Fresh", aka "Poppy", who wore a bonnet.

A toy line of doughboy products were once sold which included, a dog named "Flapjack", a cat named "Biscuit", a little boy named "Popper", a little girl named "Poppie Fresh", a baby named "Bun-Bun", and "Granmommer" and "Granpopper".

The voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy was done by Paul Frees. The jingle for Pillsbury went, "Nothin' says lovin' like something from the oven." "Poppin' Fresh" made his first appearance on American television sets on November 7, 1965.

Answer: Ann Turner Cook

When Gerber was looking for a face to put on their product, Dorothy Hope Smith submitted a charcoal drawing she had started of a friend's baby with plans on finishing it if they liked it. The head people at Gerber's liked it exactly the way it was and they chose to use it, and it became their official trademark in 1931. Since then, the Gerber Baby has appeared on all of the company's product's packages and in every Gerber advertisement.



In December 1996, Ann Turner Cook herself was present at the unveiling of Gerber's first new label in more than 40 years. And while Gerber Baby Foods are sporting a new look, Mrs. Cook's young face is still a part of the Gerber image, a fact she finds "especially gratifying." But not surprising. After all, that face has come to represent Gerber's commitment to happy, healthy babies all over the world.

Answer: Nipper

Nipper was born in Bristol, England in 1884, and belonged to Mark Barraud. After Mark's death, Nipper went to Liverpool to live with Mark's younger brother, Francis. Francis says he remembers how confused Nipper would look while staring at the phonograph, as if he was wondering where the voice was coming from. Nipper died in 1895, and three years later, Francis, painted the now famous painting. On February 11, 1899, Francis had it registered.

He titled it, "Dog looking at, and listening to a Phonograph".

He renamed it, "His Master's Voice" and sold it to The Gramophone Company and he became their mascot. Not long after, Nipper became the mascot for the Victor Talking Machine Company, (now known as RCA Victor). In 1998, RCA gave Nipper a pal, Chipper, and they both can be seen in commercials and advertisements to this day.

Answer: No

A favorite of Jay Leno's, Hallie Kate Eisenberg was born on August 2, 1992 in East Brunswick, New Jersey. She has done several Pepsi commercials between 1998 and 2001. She has also worked with Al Pacino, in 1999's "The Insider", Robin Williams in 1999's "Bicentennial Man", and played the role of Helen Keller in 2000's TV movie, "The Miracle Worker". Alisan Porter played the role of Curly Sue in 1991's "Curly Sue" with James Belushi and Kelly Lynch.

Answer: Mary Kay Bergman

Mary Kay Bergman, (also credited under the name Shannen Cassidy), was born on June 5, 1961 in Los Angeles, California. She provided the voice of many characters including the voices of Cartman, Stan, and Kenny's mothers, Stan's sister Shelly, and Wendy Testeberger in Comedy Central's "South Park", Daphne Blake in "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" (1998), "Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost" (1999), and "The Scooby-Doo Project".

She suffered from depression and committed suicide on November 11, 1999.

Answer: True

Owner of Blue Ribbon Sports, Inc., Phil Knight, also taught accounting at Portland State University. One day he saw a graphic design student named Carolyn Davidson. He asked if he paid her, could she create some designs for him. She agreed and he asked if she would do a shoe stripe for him, preferrably something that suggested movement. What came to be, was "The Swoosh" symbol we now recognize as Nike.

Answer: Yes

Duncan Hines, was a former traveling salesman turned food critic. During his travels, he would eat at restaurants, and when travel became popular, he wanted to help others enjoy their travels by telling them the places that have excellent service as well as excellent food.

In 1935, he and his wife, Florence, made a list of recommended establishments, (a total of 167), and sent them out as Christmas presents. In 1948, Roy Park, approached him and proposed that he lend his name to a line of packaged foods from many top manufacturers. Duncan Hines Vanilla Ice Cream was the first product to bear his name. Proctor and Gamble purchased the brand in 1956, with permission to put the Duncan Hines name on various food products.

His name is still seen on cake mixes and a small variety of other products.

Answer: Vince and Larry

Known as "the Crash Test Dummies", Vince and Larry appeared in several public service announcements, the first one appearing in 1985. Their campaign slogan was, "You Could Learn a Lot from a Dummy" and the ads were produced by the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Vince and Larry portrayed what would happen in a crash if someone wasn't wearing their seat-belt.

They made their final appearance in 1999, when the USDT changed the slogan to, "Buckle Up. Always".