The first edible mascot in sports history was revealed at the 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Strawberry Pop-Tarts mascot, introduced Eras Tour-style at the event, worked the crowd and refs before willfully giving up its life at the end. K-State coach Chris Klieman and game MVP Avery Johnson dug into a giant edible Pop-Tart, likely disappearing somewhere inside the toaster. The mascot immediately went viral on social media for its sacrificial, yet delicious, execution after the college football game ended. The Pop-Tarts mascot stands on top of a giant Pop-Tart branded toaster.
The first-ever Pop-Tarts Bowl on Thursday saw the mascot stand on top of a giant Pop-Tart toaster. The Pop-Tarts mascot has gone viral after a college football bowl game, with players ripping into the giant, smiling Pop-Tart and causing controversy. Pop-Tarts PR, despite repeated requests, would not disclose the details of the mascot’s origins or legal agreements that prevented the Pop-Tart from conducting any media interviews.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl has been a topic of interest for fans, with the internet having a field day following the event. The mascot has become a symbol of the future of college football and the potential for a new era in the sport.
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The Pop Tart has had many a wild mascot, from talking toasters to chilly yeti, and after this year’s POP TART Bowl I knew I had to …
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I was taking animation in 2002 or 2003, and Don Herzfelt came to campus in since he was a UCSB alumni. He talked about his films up to that time-the first that he had done for the class I was taking. He also told us his interactions with various ad agencies who were approaching him to do work after they saw Rejected, which he kept turning down. I was so bummed to see the crazy good commercials, since I knew they hadn’t been sanctioned.
I think It’s pretty fun how they used a Toaster as their mascot for such a long time. It fits the product and, I think, is a lot more creative than just the usual fair with food mascots, where they just make the product itself the mascot. Also, it means we don’t need to think about the implications of a sentient Pop-Tart encouraging us to eat his fellow brethren.😂
Seeing the clips from the Pop-Tart Bowl reminded me that the first time I ate them, they had college logos printed on them. And there’s another bowl game called the Duke’s Mayo Bowl where the mascot is a giant tub of mayonnaise, and after the game, the winning coach gets dumped in it. (I should know, my favorite team’s head coach was dumped in mayo once.)
Grew up in rural Ireland. My sister and I had never heard of pop tarts until we saw them in the first toy story movie. When we found out they were real we demanded the local shop get them in. Pretty sure they had to import them them for a couple of years but we always bought all of them. It was mind-blowing when more flavours than strawberry became available.
I love coming back to this article, there’s just something about Pop Tarts mascots, especially the one that goes into the toaster because it WANTS to be eaten, that keeps drawing me back. I still think they should’ve kept Milton, he was so cute. And the red sneakers on that one Pop Tart mascot keeps making me think of A.C. from The California Raisins (the scene in the Signed Sealed Delievered song where he poses for a magazine is funny and kind of cursed at the same time, and now I have the song stuck in my head). I honestly just adore anthropomorphic mascots in general. Some are downright hilarious, like Pepperami from the Pepperami commercials (though he doesn’t really have a costume).
Milton the Toaster is super cute, I wish they kept him, but the modern mascots are pretty cool too. The 80s mascotless commercials remind me of the awful and condescending 1980s Jack In The Box commercials where they tried to be “fancy” and also got rid of Jack during this time. Funny thing is, they also introduced a kids meal, so I’d argue they should’ve just kept Jack and The Jack In The Box Bunch. Paul Winchell (OG Voice of Tigger) clearly had a fun time voicing almost all the characters (most noticeable with Jack and Onion Ring Thing). At least the 1980s gave us some super fun mascots like The California Raisins (who also have tons of crazy lore), and Domino’s Pizza’s The Noid.
I don’t like when the mascots WANT you to eat them. M&M’s brilliantly subverted that years ago to the point where their ironic cannibalism/fear of getting eaten is part of the brand as well charm of the ads and characters. That said, freezing and eating ice cold Pop Tarts was a game changer. It really makes the chocolatey and cereal flavored ones pop. I especially miss the Crush Orange Soda flavor nice and cold. Like a cookie covered Popsicle.
This is a great article! I love learning about the lore of various mascots and brand icons. article idea: I just read an article in WDW Magazine about the Winnie the Pooh for President Campaigns in the 1970s. It was absolutely hilarious and I was so surprised that I had never heard about it until that article.
Pop Tarts lore is weird, and TBH, I wish they kept Milton (this comes from a 2000s person who grew up with the Crazy Good campaign), but the new mascots are super cute (except with the costume), and cool. What is with the 80s and companies wanting to get rid of mascots? Pop Tarts did it, and Jack In The Box also did it (by blowing Jack up with dynamite in some 1980s ads), though I’m honestly madder with Jack In The Box. Their 80s ads are downright AWFUL, and while they did bring back Jack, I actually prefer the 1970s animated one, due to the cuter, cartoon-ier design, and the fact that 70s era Jack was voiced by Paul Winchell, OG voice of Tigger and the inventor of the artificial heart. However, the 80s also gave us some of the best mascots IMO, like The California Raisins and Domino’s Pizza’s The Noid. You think Pop-Tarts lore is crazy? The California Raisins have TONS of lore, including some really insane comics, a appearance in Claymation Christmas, they straight out won an Emmy for their Meet The Raisins special, and they even still appear in Japan, despite not originally being popular there (albeit with more generic raisins instead of the established ones).
Evolution of: BJ and Baby Bop, Yogi and Boo Boo Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Woody Woodpecker, Rocky and Bullwinkle, The Backyardigans walk-around characters, Curious George, Roger Rabbit, Bean Bunny, Bonkers, Blue from Blue’s Clues, Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, Scooby Doo, Timon, Bernard and Bianca from The Rescuers, Dora The Explorer, Boots, and Diego, Mr. Smee, Big Al, Liver Lips, and Wendell from the Country Bear Jamboree, evolution Alvin and the Chipmunks walk-around costumes, the Phillie Phanatic, Baltimore Orioles mascot, LazyTown characters, Fievel Mousekewitz, Don Karnage, King Louie, Roger Rabbit, Hello Kitty, Snap Crackle and Pop, Sunny from Cocoa Puffs, Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble, etc. The Cat in The Hat walk-around costume character, The Banana Splits, Beetle Bailey, Alex, Gloria, and other Madagascar walk-around characters, The Three Little Pigs, etc. 🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬📺🎡🎡🎡🎢🎢🎢