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.

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.

The voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy was performed by Paul Frees (and Jobe Cerny, the Cheers detergent pitchman for Procter & Gamble ads). Pillsbury's commercial jingle is "Nothin' says lovin' like something from the oven." Poppin' Fresh debuted on TV on November 7, 1965.

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."  

---

The Pillsbury Poppin' Fresh Character Obituary (The below 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.