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Tony the Tiger (トニー・ザ・タイガー)

When I was a young kid growing up in Houston, Texas (trust me, that was a very LONG time ago, ha ha), smiley like a lot of other American kiddos, I really looked forward to Saturday mornings.

Why? Well, for one thing there was NO SCHOOL! Yay! Also, as a result, Saturday morning TV programming was almost exclusively for children… cartoons, kids shows, Disney programs, game shows, etc.

So naturally, all of the TV commercials were directed towards us youngsters… toys, games, candy, breakfast cereals, you name it.

Through the years I came to admire my favorite cartoon character by the name of Tony the Tiger (トニー・ザ・タイガー). Born in 1952, Tony is the mascot for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal, known in Japan as Corn Frosty (コーンフロスティ).

I always loved it at the end of Tony’s TV commercials when they would ask him what he thought of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and he would always say in a deep bass voice, "They're gr-r-reat!"

Well, you might imagine the impact that made on a very impressionable 5-year-old at the time, and now over 6 decades later, I still use that phrase in my everyday life, ha ha. laughing icon

The humor in his expression, although somewhat subtle, is that because tigers make a "gr-r-r-rowling" sound, Tony's way of saying "gr-r-r-reat" approximates the voice of a real tiger. By all means, be sure to listen to his voice in the audio file and TV commercials video shown below.  

My wish today is that you too will come to admire and love Tony the Tiger as much as I do! Long live Tony the Tiger, because in my heart and soul, he will always be GR-R-REAT! smiley


Frosted Flakes & Tony the Tiger       
Kellogg's Japanese Corn Frosty
Q: Tony, what do you think of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes?
A: They're GR-R-R-R-REAT!!!
(click link above to hear Tony's voice)




FOUR Tony the Tiger TV commercials, the last 2 in Japanese (日本語)
(If player above is not visible, you can view video at YouTube here.)





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