Toucan Sam is the cartoon toucan mascot for Froot Loops breakfast cereal. The character has been featured in advertising since 1963. He exhibits the ability to smell Froot Loops from great distances and invariably locates a concealed bowl of the cereal while intoning, "Follow your nose! It always knows!", sometimes followed by "The flavour of fruit! Wherever it grows!" Another version of this phrase in a string of commercials in the late 2000s presents the character at the end of the commercials saying "Just follow your nose!", followed by his nephews retorting, "For the fruity taste that shows!"
History
Toucan Sam became the mascot for Froot Loops cereal in 1963.[1] Manuel R. Vega created the cartoon character and originally voiced by Mel Blanc, using an ordinary American accent. Blanc's original commercials were noted for their use of Pig Latin (referring to the cereal as OOT-fray OOPS-lay).[2] The ad agency later decided to switch to the British accent more commonly associated with the character. They then employed Paul Frees to do what is, in effect, an imitation of Ronald Colman.[2]