| Sonny the Cuckoo Bird | |
|---|---|
 Original cereal box with no notice. | |
|
Real Name |
Sonny |
|
First Appearance |
Coca Puffs cereal box (1962) |
|
Original Publisher |
General Mills |
|
Created by |
Chuck McCann |
Origin[]
Sonny in an early commercial from 1965.
Sonny the Cuckoo Bird is an orange bird with a white suit with pink stripes and black bow tie who attempts to stay away from Cocoa Puffs, by doing a different activity, but ends up coming across some reference to the cereal in the act (usually described by the adjectives "munchy," "crunchy," and "chocolatey"), causing him to burst, exclaiming "I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!"
He was designed by Gene Cleaves in 1962, and was originally voiced by Chuck McCann.
Sonny with Gramps from a Harvey comics ad.
Sonny's name comes from the original format for the commercials, in which he was paired with his Grandfather. Rather than proper names, they always referred to each other as "Gramps" and "Sonny." In those original spots, both Sonny and Gramps were voiced by Chuck McCann.
One time in 1987, he met Popeye the Sailor Man in a Coca Puffs commercial.
Notes[]
- The original cereal boxes first featuring Sonny never had any copyright notices. The same goes for the original advertisements he appeared in.
- General Mills' Cocoa Puffs and Sonny are still trademarked by General Mills, so the character’s name can only be used within the interior of a story, not to promote a brand.