Coco Pops (known as Cocoa Krispies in the United States), is a
breakfast cereal produced by Kellogg's. It is
a cocoa-flavoured version of Rice Krispies. Containing a
substance imitating milk chocolate, the cereal can quickly turn milk
"chocolatey." The cereal was introduced in the United States in 1958.
United States
In the United States, the cereal was renamed "Cocoa Rice Krispies" in
2003 as Kellogg's endeavoured to unite their Rice Krispies variations under a single marketing
schema. In 2006, the name was returned to Cocoa Krispies, however Coco the Monkey has not
returned on US packaging, and Rice Krispie mascots Snap, Crackle, and Pop also adorn the label of Cocoa Krispies.
Mascots
Kellogg's went through various mascots for Cocoa Krispies since it started in 1958 the most
famous being Milky Cocoa Pops Franklin. The first mascot was Jose the monkey. He was quickly replaced by Coco the elephant in
1959. In 1963, the Hanna-Barbera character, Snagglepuss, took over as the mascot. Ogg
the caveman took over in 1968. In 1971, Tusk the elephant became the
mascot of the cereal, and he remained until 1981. Snap,
Crackle and Pop (the mascots of Rice Krispies) were the mascots for this cereal
starting in 1981. In 1990, the mascot became Coco the monkey. Coco
was a brown monkey who wore a blue cap and a white t-shirt with his name printed on it. Coco spoke with an Australian accent
(although, it was a little hard to tell since in the commercials, he sang more often than he spoke). The commercials with Coco
were exactly the same as the ones in the UK, basically stories about adventures he has in the jungle while other animals try to
get his Krispies from him; being a very tricky monkey, Coco always found a way to get them back. Each commercial featured a
catchy song (which was fundamentally the same song only with different lyrics). In the late 1990s, the animated Coco was replaced
in the United States, by a real life monkey still named Coco. This time in non-animated ads the monkey wore the same hat and
shirt as the animated version of him but didn't talk as kids in the various ads interacted with him. The real life version also
replaced the animated version on the front of the box. In 2001, Snap, Crackle and Pop returned as
the mascots, and they are now the current mascots for Cocoa Krispies.
Other markets
Several spin-off cereals using the "Coco Pops" name, such as Coco Pops Crunchers, Coco Rocks, Coco Pops
Straws and Coco Pops Mega Munchers have also been released by Kellogg's in some countries. A variety pack of Coco
Pops, Coco Pops Crunchers, Coco Rocks and Coco Pops Mega Munchers has been released under the name of Coco Pops Creations,
marketed as a pic'n'mix style breakfast cereal, where the consumer can create their own cereal using the four options.
The cereal is known as Coco Pops in the United Kingdom, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Ireland, Finland, Italy, Greece, Israel, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, South
Africa, Hong Kong, Lebanon and Australia. It was briefly renamed in 1998 to Choco Krispies in line with
Germany and Spain, where it is known by this name. However after
falling sales and a telephone poll in which the British public voted, its name was reverted in 1999. In Australia and New Zealand, the advertising slogan "Just Like a Chocolate Milkshake, only Crunchy" is used,
while in the United Kingdom there are 2 slogans, the most widely used being "I'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops", while the
other is "Coco Pops and milk make a bowlful of fun". In these countries Coco the Monkey remains the mascot.
Nutritional Value
Kellogg's Coco Pops was described "as the children's breakfast cereal that children most want to eat, but which parents would
prefer that they didn't" by a parent's jury on the Food Commission. This ranking was achieved due to a level of added sugar approaching 40%,
second only to Froot Loops followed up by Nutri-Grain
and the promotion of chocolate as a breakfast food.
Coco Pops Slogans
- "Just like a chocolate milkshake, only crunchy!"
- "Nothing tops Kellogg's Coco Pops, Kellogg's Coco Pops!" (UK)
- "We'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops" (UK)
- "Coco Pops and milk make a bowlful of fun" (UK)
- "Coco Pops Crunchers - Can you handle the crunch?" (UK)
- "New Coco Pops Creations make a bowlful of fun" (UK)
- "Coco Pops make milk go choc!"
Russell Brand & Matt Morgan
frequently mention Coco Pops as they use the slogan as a call and response to
check time delay on BBC Radio 2.
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