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Poppin'
Fresh Doughboy - Mascot for the Pillsbury® Company's refrigerated dough
products who was created in 1965 by Rudi Perz, an employee of the Leo Burnett
Advertising Agency.
Poppin' Fresh is a miniature blue-eyed man made of dough who
wore a baker's hat. Whenever any of the Pillsbury refrigerated dough products
were opened on the TV spots, he'd pop out and begin to praise their wonderful
flavor and texture. He was so irresistibly cute that the humans in the
commercials would always gently poke his spongy little tummy with their index
finger. This action produced a charming "Tee-hee!" giggle from Poppin' Fresh.
Poppin' Fresh debuted on TV on November 7, 1965. His voice was performed by
Paul Frees (and Jobe Cerny, the Cheers detergent pitchman for Procter & Gamble
ads).
In the 1970s Pillsbury also introduced Mrs. Poppin' Fresh (a.k.a. "Poppy") who wore
a bonnet. Poppin' Fresh and Poppy were both rubber dolls and their apparent
motion was produced through stop-action photography.
A toy line of dough boy products were marketed including: Flapjack, a dog; Popper, a little boy; Poppie
Fresh, a little girl; Biscuit, a cat; Bun Bun, a baby; and Granmommer and
Granpopper, Poppin Fresh's parents. Pillsbury's commercial jingle is "Nothin' says lovin'
like something from the oven."
The Pillsbury Poppin' Fresh Character
Obituary
(The obituary appears in various forms on the internet.)
Veteran Pillsbury spokesman Pop N.
Fresh died yesterday of a severe yeast infection. He was 71. Fresh was buried
in one of the largest funeral ceremonies in recent years. Dozens of
celebrities turned out including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins,
Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, and the Hostess Twinkies. The graveside was piled
high with flours as longtime friend Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy,
describing Fresh as a man who “never knew how much he was kneaded.”
Fresh rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with
many turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his
dough on half-baked schemes. Still, even as a crusty old man, he was a roll
model for millions. Dough boy is survived by his wife, Play Dough, two
children, John Dough and Jane Dough, and his elderly father, Pop Tart. The
funeral was held at 3:50 for about twenty minutes.
TRIVIA NOTE: During a 1998 monologue on
THE TONIGHT SHOW comedian Jay Leno reported that "75% of people surveyed say
they believe that the Pillsbury Dough Boy is a virgin. "Apparently," continued
Leno, "not everybody loves Sara Lee."
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