NEW YORK, November 20 /Newswire-FirstCall/ — Tony the Tiger, beloved spokesperson for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes died today, after suffering a heart attack believed to have been brought on by a lifetime of poor food choices and Type 2 diabetes.
Tony, born in 1952, was conceived by famous illustrator Martin Provensen. Tony is survived by his son Tony Jr., best known for his own short-lived cereal, Frosted Rice.
While most will remember Tony for his exuberant personality, his life was one of sugar highs and lows. The tiger, who consumed Frosted Flakes and milk (exclusively), developed Type 2 Diabetes sometime in the mid-1970s. The last decade was especially hard on the breakfast cereal icon.
“In the mid- to late-’90s, Tony was a bit of a buffoon,” said Mark Baynes, Kellogg’s Chief Marketing Officer, “He wasn’t credible and kids were starting to lose a lot of association with the brand.”
But Kellogg’s attempt to reposition Tony as more than just a ‘tagline-spouting cartoon’ ended in failure. The resulting ad campaign pitched Tony as a coach and mentor who helped kids train for sporting events.
“Tony as a coach was completely ludicrous, and everyone knew it,” said Toucan Sam, a lifelong friend.
Sources close to Tony say report that the star hit a new low this June when Kellogg’s hinted that he would no longer appear in advertising targeted to children under twelve. The decision was in response to threats of a lawsuit from parents and nutrition advocacy groups who believe cereal is contributing to the rising tide of childhood obesity.
“The thought that he would no longer be able to interact with his younger fans crushed Tony,” said Toucan Sam, also hard hit by Kellogg’s new advertising guidelines.
40% of the calories in Frosted Flakes come from cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup - more than 36 grams of which can be found in a single cup of the cereal.
20 comments ↓
That’s greaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!
Nooooo, that’s so sad, I grew up with Tony! sob…
Too funny! And yet so true!
Ha, this was hilarious! Hopefully people will learn from poor Tony’s fate that neither man nor tiger can live on Frosted Flakes alone.
I don’t have Type 2 diabetes, but I do have Type 1 diabetes and I’ve got many friends with Type 2 diabetes.
People who get diabetes don’t have a lot of choice in the matter. Those of us with Type 1 have no control over getting the disease and those with Type 2 aren’t ‘to blame’ for it. And all of us with diabetes suffer from complications or the fear of complications.
Trust me, this is a real, gut renching, with-you-24-hours-a-day fear. Have a look at some of the Diabetes365 pictures to see what those of us living with this disease think.
I’ve got a thick skin, but I don’t find this ‘joke’ to be funny.
I feel like many of you may have taken this post out of context.
‘Tony’ is a metaphor of the advertising strategies of processed cereal manufacturers.
It hard to dispute that Kellogg’s may contribute to the obesity epidemic by marketing crappy food directly to children (with cartoons for example).
Kellogg’s even tried to position Tony as “a coach and mentor who helped kids train for sporting events.”
Tony “dies” of type 2 diabetes - e.g. Kellogg’s marketing team “kills him off” - in response to a public outcry and “threats of a lawsuit from parents and nutrition advocacy groups who believe cereal is contributing to childhood obesity.”
I actually make my living in the medical trade.
Kellogg’s isn’t to blame.. They aren’t the ones buying the food. It’s the PARENTS. Children can be taught that just because a fictional (cartoon) tiger thinks Frosted Flakes is “grrrreat” it’s still not healthy.
My children understand this. It only took me telling them so and showing them how much sugar was in the cereal. It’s THAT simple.
This supposed threat lawsuit is ludicrous. Parents are the ones who decide what to put on their table! If they feel cereal is contributing to obesity, they should stop buying it for their kids.
P.S. This ‘joke’ isn’t funny to me either.
As a diabetic, I do not find this funny either.
Did you know you cannot get diabetes from poor food choices alone?
Great post, maybe Toucan Sam could die of rare nose cancer complications in your next post, due to sniffing so much sugar in search of his froot loops. Boy that’d be funny too. I bet children with cancer would appreciate that post almost as much as the diabetic children that find this post.
Being in the medical trade, I bet you could think of all kinds of diseases to make fun of while you kill of childhood icons. Good luck with that!
Yea, if the reason for Tony’s death was the sugared cereal controversy thing, that should have been stated…I find no humor in this, either…Type 2 here.
oh dear tony, you will be missed. you were greeaaaaaaat!
Maybe the krispie boys will die of eating firecrackers in their cereal!
[…] it’s not so Tony! Go read the details. IceRocket Tags: Tony Tiger, Frosted Flakes, cereal, […]
Wow.
That’s all I can really say.
Everyone knew that Tony would die at some point in time, but from diabetes? o.o
That was an unexpected bump-in the road.
What a touching eulogy. Tony will be very missed among the households of teenagers like myself. Frosted Flakes were greeeaaaat but now they’re kind of lacking in the eeeeeaaaaaaa part. Now they’re just great.
*sob*
[…] According to the November 2007 report, […]
Poor Poor Tony i feel bad for those who have diabetes and i dont not like the crule joke put opon a childs idol
not funny at all…try again
www.begup.com
Dear Blogsoop… Hope you don’t mind we (spunkybean.com) copied the ‘RIP’ photo above (and linked and credited you, of course) for my site’s latest article “Breakfast Cereal Mascots: Where Are They Now”.
Please, if you talk to anyone from Tony’s family, please send along my sympathy as well as everyone over at spunkybean.com. Please post an address so that I might also send a card.
Hope you are all having a great day.
-Don
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