# 2: "They're GRRRREAT!"

Tony the Tiger- 1952

The History of Tony the Tiger


The history of advertising is a pretty broad subject. I decided to narrow this down and pick one product (or in this case, mascot). Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (a.k.a. Frosties) were a favorites of mine as a child. It probably had nothing to do with the cereal itself and everything to do with it's mascot, Tony the Tiger.


 Almost all of us are familiar with this famous cereal icon. I remember sitting in my living room as a kid watching the commercials. What child could resist this fun-loving character with his catchy slogan, " They're GRRRREAT!" When I started watching these advertisements it would have been in the early 1990's, but Tony goes back much farther than that.

1961

Tony the Tiger was "born" in 1952. The tiger became an instant success as the cereal's spokescharacter.
Leo Burnett was hired for the ad campaign in 1951. Four characters were proposed: Newt the Gnu, Elmo the Elephant, Katy the Kangaroo, and Tony the Tiger. After Tony was chosen, graphic artist Eugene Kolkey sketched the tiger and sent it on to Martin Provensen to add the finishing touches. The slogan for the product has been voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft for over five decades! The photos shown are Kellogg's Frosted Flakes cereal box designs, showing how Tony the Tiger has evolved throughout the years.


In the early days of Tony the Tiger, the world was given a brief look at the rest of Tony's family. Tony had a mother, Mama Tiger, a wife, Mrs. Tiger, a son, Tony Jr., and a daughter, Antoinette. His family was 'short lived."

1974

Tony's appearance has had significant changes over the years. As you can see in the images, he started out with a football-shaped head. This was changed early on to a softer look. He also started with many whiskers on his face, but now has very few. His eye color changed from green to yellow-gold, as well. Today Tony appears much more athletic than his former self, showing off a slim body with big broad shoulders. His height has also drastically changed. Starting out at only a couple of inches tall in the first sketches, today Tony has reached 6'6" when standing on two legs.


Tony's appearance has not been the only change. Over the last sixty years his tagline has also evolved.

• They're more than good, they're great!
• They're gonna taste great!
• Bring out the tiger in you!
• The taste adults have grown to love!
• Grrreat for growth!
• Earn your stripes!
• Never let the tiger catch you!
• Put a tiger on your team!
• It's grrreat!
• Super de-duper!
• A grrreat taste!
• They're Grrreat!

1990

In the late 1950s, Tony was shown in television commercials. Through the years, technology allowed Tony to be shown alongside live-action performers. The ads were aired on Kellogg sponsored shows alongside the shows actors and hosts. 

Shortly after Tony the Tiger became famous, competitors such as General Mills came out with their own cereal mascots. The two major competing characters were the Trix Rabbit (Trix) and Sonny the Cuckoo (Cocoa Puffs). While these characters also took off, Tony the Tiger was still on top. 

Once starting out as premiums that the purchaser could redeem with box tops (and sometimes cash), today there are tons of Tony the Tiger collectibles. Just briefly looking at ebay, I found collectors train sets, earrings, cookie tins, cereal bowls, watches and baseballs. 

Today Tony is over sixty years old, but he has still got it. Not many other characters are as recognizable as this tiger and even less are known all around the world, as he is. One this is for sure, Tony is now and forever GRRREAT!

Tony Today

For more information about Tony the Tiger, check out the websites listed below. I found them very useful!

http://www2.kelloggs.com/

http://adage.com/century/icon09.html

JiffyNotes/ Kellogg Company

collectibles.about.com

http://www.kellogghistory.com

# 1: Breaking Through the Clutter: Guerrilla Marketing

We have been discussing issues in advertising lately in my principles of advertising class. A variety of topics have been touched on, ranging from the ethical and legal implication of advertising to what advertisers can do to make their ads stand out from the rest. As a future advertiser, I think that creating fresh ideas to differentiate a product from others is vital. 

We see thousands of ads in a single day, but how many of them will we remember? One or two? An article from The New York Times, titled Anywhere the Eye Can See, It’s Likely to See an Ad, stated,


 "Yankelovich, a market research firm, estimates that a person living in a city 30 years ago saw up to 2,000 ad messages a day, compared with up to 5,000 today. About half the 4,110 people surveyed last spring by Yankelovich said they thought marketing and advertising today was out of control."


This article was published in 2007, so imagine how many more ads we see today! What makes a good advertisement memorable? I think that if you can answer that question you've got a bright future in the advertising world. 


This is where guerrilla marketing comes into play.

guerrilla marketing

Definition: any of a number of unconventional methods of marketing with minimal resources for maximum results; any marketing campaign that uses non-mainstream tactics and locations (dictionary.com)


While dictionary.com's definition is accurate, I prefer Jay Conrad Levinson's (a.k.a. the Father of Guerrilla Marketing) version. On his website, Levinson describes guerrilla marketing: 


"I'm referring to the soul and essence of guerrilla marketing which remain as always -- achieving conventional goals, such as profits and joy, with unconventional methods, such as investing energy instead of money.

Guerrilla Marketing started out a single volume and has since acted biblically by being fruitful and multiplying into a library of 35 books and counting, an Association, a lush website, an abundance of video and audio versions, an email newsletter, a consulting organization, an internationally-syndicated column for newspapers, magazines, and the Internet, and presentations in enough countries for us to consider forming our own Guerrilla United Nations.


Guerrilla marketing is needed because it gives small businesses a delightfully unfair advantage: certainty in an uncertain world, economy in a high-priced world, simplicity in a complicated world, marketing awareness in a clueless world."

Guerrilla marketing is hit or miss. It can give companies a great advantage in the advertising world, but it can also fail miserably. It is considered a great risk because in many cases, it is seen as unethical or even illegal. Some, however, really pay off. The following are guerrilla marketing successes:

1. Newcastle Brown Ale

A recent campaign for Newcastle Brown Ale was an instant success. They were praised for being creative and effective.

"Trapped in a Schooner"

Newcastle: Shadow Art

The "Shadow Art" billboard is displayed in San Diego. The shadow is created using Newcastle bottle caps and a single light source. 


2. Short Shorts by Superette
Superette turned park benches into "walking billboards" by bordering the bench with their logo.

3. UNICEF

UNICEF's Dirty Water campaign shocked New Yorkers when they took vending machines to the streets in attempt to sell diseased water. While no one bought the water, UNICEF received many donations. See the video below.

4. The Sopranos

HBO promoted The Sopranos by placing ads on Taxis, which also proved to be very successful.