Cocoa Krispies

Cocoa Krispies with milk

The cereal is known as Choco Krispis in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, and Choco Krispies in Portugal, Spain, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

It was introduced in the United Kingdom as Coco Pops in 1973, and is also known by that name in the Netherlands, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Ghana, Malta, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, Finland, Italy, Greece, Sweden, Belgium, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Ukraine, Botswana, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Australia, Turkey and Republic of Korea and as Choco Pops in France. Later in the 1960s, the name was changed to Coco Krispies, but subsequently reverted to Coco Pops.

The cereal was available in Canada for a time, but was discontinued at some point in the early 1990s. Instead, Kellogg's sells a variant called Rice Krispies Cocoa, which is simply Rice Krispies with a light chocolate flavor.[1] Several spin off cereals using the "Coco Pops" name, such as Caramel Flavoured Coco Pops, Coco Pops Crunchers, Coco Chex, Coco Rocks, Coco Pops Straws, Coco Pops Moon & Stars, Coco Pops Choc-N-Roll and Coco Pops Croc Prints (shaped like Crafty Croc's feet) have also been released by Kellogg's in some countries.

A generic brand of coco pops

Chocos were introduced in some countries as Coco Pops Mega Munchers. A chocolate flavor porridge variant had been available in the end of 2000s called Coco Pops Porridge, but didn't last long. Since 2014, they have been brought back.

Cocoa Krispies first appeared in the United States in 1958, represented by a monkey named Jose. He was reportedly replaced by Coco the Elephant in 1960 when Mexican-Americans complained about the ethnic stereotype. In 1963, the Hanna-Barbera character Snagglepuss took over as the mascot. Ogg the Caveman took over towards the end of 1967.

By the end of 1973, Tusk the Elephant became the mascot of the cereal, and he remained until the end of 1982, when Snap, Crackle and Pop (the mascots of Rice Krispies) replaced and retired Tusk the Elephant. In 1991, the mascot became Coco the Monkey. In 2001, Snap, Crackle, and Pop returned and they have remained the product's mascots to date.

The cereal was introduced in the United Kingdom under the "Coco Pops" name in 1961, with Mr. Jinks as the mascot. Later in the 1960s, Sweep (a dog hand puppet from the popular children's television programme The Sooty Show) became the mascot for Coco Pops.

In 1963, Coco the Monkey was introduced, and he remains the mascot in those countries where the cereal is known as Coco Pops, Choco Krispies, and Choco Pops. In recent years, the design of Coco has been refined to give him a younger look. Coco's friends are Shortie Giraffe, Alan Anteater, Heftie Hippo, Ozmelda Ostrich, Kylie Kangaroo, and Rocky Raccoon, while Crafty Croc and the gorillas are his arch enemies.

In 1986, the cereal introduced the mascot Simmo. It became popular quickly, with a short stint on the face of the merchandise and packaging for Cocoa Krispies. The Simmo mascot featured on various materials for around about three months. Simmo also starred in an advert for the company in 1986, alongside a female companion who only appeared once named "Heapo", a cartoon hippopotamus.[4]

More recent advertisements (2009) in the United Kingdom have opted away from using Coco and his friends, instead opting for things such as dancing milkmen and astronauts. Coco is still present on the box of the cereal and at the end of the advertisement, but is no longer the featured character. However, the cereal box of 2009 has Coco's head as the main feature, with the title 'Coco Pops' and a smaller cereal bowl, on the right of the box. Briefly, Coco was seen as a real-life chimp. As of 2011, Kellogg's decided to bring Coco and his friends, as well as Croc back, under a new space age style campaign, known as the "Coco Pops Promise".

In those countries where the cereal is known as "Choco Krispis," an elephant is the mascot. In 1986, Kelloggs named the elephant "Melvin". Recently, he has been called "Commando Melvin," due to commercials featuring him as a space-faring fighter and adventurer, although this is due to a misunderstanding, as Commando Melvin refers exclusively to the organization featured in the commercials, whose purpose is to defend the "forti calcio plus", a supposed ingredient in the cereal from aliens or other such villains.

In July 2014, in Mexico, due to concerns about the sugary and caloric contents of the cereal and the relation kids made with the friendly mascot, Melvin the elephant had a physical transformation from a traditional elephant body to an athletic body, resembling a strong teenager while keeping the head of the mascot. The cereal also had a recipe transformation to add more vitamins and minerals, in order to focus the product into a "health is fun" type of communication.[5]

In Australia, the mascot is Coco the Monkey.[6]

In June 2020, following the killing of George Floyd and as Black Lives Matter demonstrations were taking place around the world, former UK Member of Parliament Fiona Onasanya criticized Kellogg's use of a monkey on the box of brown, chocolate-flavoured Coco Pops whereas Rice Krispies featured Snap, Crackle and Pop, three white characters.[7] A spokesperson for Kellogg's responded that "We do not tolerate discrimination." Kellogg's also said that its founder, William Keith Kellogg, was "a pioneer in employing women in the workplace and reaching across cultural boundaries." Onasanya pointed out that Kellogg's brother John Harvey Kellogg had founded the eugenics and racial hygiene organisation Race Betterment Foundation.[7] Kellogg's was previously criticised over racially insensitive imagery in 2017 when author Saladin Ahmed noticed that a Corn Pops cereal box's only dark-skinned character was a janitor cleaning the floor.[8]

Coco Pops received two stars out of five on the Australian Government's health star ratings.[9]

Kellogg's was criticized by health authorities in the United States and consumer experts in October 2009, when it unveiled a description on its boxes of Cocoa Krispies cereal that stated "now helps support your child's immunity".[10] Kellogg's responded that it didn't create the new copy to capitalize on the H1N1 virus concerns, but added "Kellogg developed this product in response to consumers expressing a need for more positive nutrition."

The FDA may yet rule on the Kellogg's claim and some observers responded negatively to Kellogg's marketing campaign. Compared to all claims on cereal boxes, "This one belongs in the hall of fame," said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. "By their logic, you can spray vitamins on a pile of leaves, and it will boost immunity."[11]

There is concern that advertisements target children. LCM bars of the type advertised contain 30% sugar, which the advertisement failed to address.[12] Advertisements by bus stops feature, "Ever thought of Coco Pops after school?" and parents fear children will want Coco Pops instead of healthier foods. Official support by Kellogg's for an anti childhood obesity campaign is seen as hypocritical.[13]

• "Just like a chocolate milkshake, only crunchy!" (Coco Pops – United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia)
• "Nothing tops Kellogg's Coco Pops, Kellogg's Coco Pops!" (United Kingdom)
• "We'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops!" (United Kingdom) (1986-2005; 2011-2015) (Variations were used for Choco Krispies Coco Rocks and Mega Munchers and an instrumental version still remains as the jingle for the adverts)
• "Epic chocolatey fun for everyone" (United Kingdom) (2017-)
• "Coco Pops and milk make a bowl full of fun" (United Kingdom)
• "Coco Pops Crunchers – Can you handle the crunch?" (United Kingdom)
• "New Coco Pops Creations make a bowlful of fun!" (United Kingdom)
• "Coco Pops and hot milk are chocolatey fun!" (United Kingdom)
• "Coco Pops make milk go choc!"
• "Coco Pops – what goes on in that bowl?" (United Kingdom)
• "Ever thought of Coco Pops after school?" (United Kingdom)
• "And that's part of the Coco Pops Promise!" (United Kingdom)
• "Coco Pops, chocolatey fun for everyone" (United Kingdom)
• "Snap, Crackle, Pop, Cocoa Krispies!" (1985)
• "I'd always like a bowl of Cocoa Krispies!" (Date Unclear) [14]
• "With every bite so chocolatey, oh, everybody wants my Cocoa Krispies!" (1990–1993)
• "With every taste so chocolatey, everybody wants my Cocoa Krispies!"[15] (1994)
• "With every taste so milk chocolatey, everybody wants my Cocoa Krispies!" (1994–1995)
• "Coco Pops is so chocolatey, it even makes the milk turn brown." (United Kingdom)
• "Καλύτερα ένα μπωλ με Coco Pops!" ("It is better to have a bowl of Coco Pops") (Greece)

Variations include Coco Pops Chocos, which is crunchy chocolate flavored wheat cereal (according to the box), Coco Pops Rocks, which are soft and crunchy chocolate tastes (also according to the box), and Coco Pops Jumbos, which is chocolate crunchy maize cereal (also according to the box).

Other characters include: - Crafty Croc - Shorty the Giraffe - Hefty Hippo - Gorillas

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cocoa Krispies.

• Topher's Breakfast Cereal Character Guide
• The Kellogg's Store - Coco the Monkey