Frosted Flakes’ iconic mascot Tony the Tiger is celebrating his 70th birthday this year, which also coincides with the Lunar Calendar’s Year of the Tiger.
Kellogg Canada is marking the occasion with limited edition packaging featuring an Asian-inspired representation of the iconic cereal mascot, complemented by Lunar New Year greetings in traditional Chinese. The packaging was designed by Kellogg’s packaging design partner, SGK.
Tony also appears on the back panel holding a bright red gift envelope known as hóngbāo, which symbolizes good wishes and luck for the coming year. The envelope features a QR code that invites consumers to scan and download what the brand describes as a “celebratory” Frosted Flakes coupon.
This is the first time Frosted Flakes has introduced special packaging around Lunar New Year, although sister brand Kellogg’s Corn Flakes marked 2017’s Year of the Rooster with packaging showing its own iconic mascot, Cornelius, in red and gold.
“The creation of this special edition pack exemplifies Kellogg’s commitment to celebrating the cultural traditions of our diverse employees and consumers across Canada,” said Christine Jakovcic, Kellogg Canada’s vice-president of marketing and nutrition.
Jakovcic said Kellogg and SGK enlisted partners including a multi-cultural ad agency, a “diverse group of dedicated and passionate” Kellogg employees, and its internal ED&I employee resource group, to ensure that the packaging was culturally sensitive.
It’s not the first time that Kellogg has linked Tony with the Year of the Tiger, however. In 1974, the popular mascot was named “Tiger of the Year” in an associated ad campaign, and there was also collectible merchandise in both 1986 and 2010.
Tony made his first appearance on what was then known by the far more unwieldy name Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes of Corn in 1952. According to the character’s history, Tony was originally intended to share space with three other characters—Katy the Kangaroo, Elmo the Elephant and Newt the Gnu—but became the brand’s sole mascot in a consumer contest.
Next year is the Year of the Rabbit. Over to you, Trix.
