Tony the Tiger
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- "Tony The Tiger" redirects here. For , see .
Tony the Tiger is the advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (also known as Frosties) breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising. More recently, Tony has also become the mascot for Tony's Cinnamon Krunchers and Tiger Power. Until his death in 2005, Thurl Ravenscroft gave Tony his voice, notably the very familiar "They’re Great." catchphrase. Former wrestling announcer Lee Marshall has since replaced Ravenscroft, signing a 10-year contract in 2006.
Somewhat strangely, advertisements for Frosties in the UK are revoiced locally. The British Tony does however still have an American accent, since he is voiced by Californian actor and bass player, Tom Hill.
Tony originally appeared in 1952, designed by children's book illustrator Martin Provensen and voiced by Dallas McKennon. Thurl Ravenscroft later took over as Tony's voice and provided the characteristic deep bass voice that has been associated with Tony for decades. Provensen's original art design for the tiger was changed greatly over the years, as Tony changed from a whimsical little critter with a teardrop-shaped head to a sleek, muscular sports enthusiast.
Tony was once one of the four animal mascots for the cereal, because Kellogg's originally planned to have an animal for each letter of the alphabet, but Katy the Kangaroo, Elmo the Elephant, and Newt the Gnu are no more.
For some time in the United Kingdom, the rock song "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor was used in conjunction with Tony's commercials.
Tony's family
Although Tony's family has not appeared in some time, there were, at one point, a whole Tiger clan. Tony's son Tony, Jr. first appeared in the early days, followed by Tony's mother, Mama Tiger. By the 1970s, he had a whole family, with a wife, Mrs. Tony, who in 1974 had a daughter tiger, Antoinette. Tony Jr. also promoted his own cereal, Frosted Rice, for a brief time. There were also rumours of a brother, Tomi the Tiger (1987), who was reportedly going to promote a rival frosted cereal, though the idea was eventually abandoned.Lawsuit against Exxon
In 1996, the Kellogg Company filed suit against Exxon Corp. (now Exxon-Mobil) claiming that the use of the Exxon tiger figure to sell food at TigerMart convenience stores infringed and diluted Kellogg's Tony the Tiger trademark. In 2000, the Supreme Court let stand an appellate court decision allowing Kellogg to sue, even though both trademarks had co-existed without complaint for 30 years. The appellate court held that the theory of "progressive encroachment" could explain and justify Kellogg's failure to take action earlier.
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