Advertising
The mascot for Cocoa Puffs is Sonny, an orange anthropomorphic Cuckoo bird. He was introduced in 1963.[8] In most commercials, Sonny attempts to resist Cocoa Puffs — his favorite cereal. However, after being reminded of the deliciousness of the cereal (generally described by the adjectives "munchy", "crunchy", and "chocolatey"), he capitulates in a burst of energy, exclaiming his catchphrase "I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!"[8] and grabbing the cereal, usually also destroying wherever Sonny is in a given commercial.[9] Sonny was voiced by Chuck McCann[8] from 1962 to 1978, and has been voiced by Larry Kenney since 1978.[10]
The line "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" has entered the vernacular as a term for somebody who is irrational.[11]
Sonny's name comes from the original format of the commercials. In those, he was paired with another cuckoo, "Gramps", his grandfather (also voiced by McCann).[8] When the grandfather was dropped from the ads, "Sonny" remained the character's name. In 2010, Gramps returned to the Cocoa Puffs ads, with McCann reprising his role as Gramps and Kenney continuing to voice Sonny.[8]
Sonny was designed by Gene Cleaves and originally drawn by Bill Tollis.[8] Animation pioneer "Grim" Natwick (of Fleischers' Betty Boop team) also contributed to the early images of Sonny and Gramps, according to then-contemporaries who collaborated with Natwick.[12]
Sonny was initially depicted as wearing a pink-and-white striped shirt. In 1995, he was redesigned, this time wearing 1990s "extreme" clothes and being given a more Disney-like appearance. In 2004, he was redesigned more simplistically, this time without clothing.
