{"id":20345,"date":"2018-07-18T18:48:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T22:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/?p=20345"},"modified":"2026-09-24T18:51:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T22:51:39","slug":"follow-your-nose-the-staying-power-of-toucan-sam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/follow-your-nose-the-staying-power-of-toucan-sam\/20345\/","title":{"rendered":"Follow Your Nose: The Staying Power of Toucan Sam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Heather Taylor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Peter Lohmeier first joined Leo Burnett in 1974, the Kellogg\u2019s Froot Loops<\/a> account, brightly colored mascot Toucan Sam, and its tagline \u201cFollow your nose!\u201d had already been with the agency for four years. The cereal had been around much longer than that, debuting in 1963. In time, Lohmeier would rise from rotating through offices (there wasn\u2019t any office space available when he arrived) with a tiny cardboard box full of his belongings to become a creative director and work at the agency for 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First on the agenda, along with handling accounts for critter clients like 9Lives and Pillsbury, was the task of taking care of Toucan Sam. Little did Lohmeier know that the design work he put in then would ensure the mascot stay beloved with adults and kids everywhere for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who was this unusual bird and why did he savor Froot Loops so much? When I spoke to Lohmeier a few months ago, he admitted that there was a specific celebrity who inspired the icon\u2019s persona. \u201cToucan Sam was structured after the actor Ronald Colman,\u201d Lohmeier explained, \u201cColman was dashing, debonair. Toucan Sam needed to sound a bit exotic because he had such a different edge than most characters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That edge \u2014 one of wit and elegance \u2014 tied in nicely with both the brand and its mascot. When it was initially introduced, Froot Loops contained orange, lemon, and lime flavors. Real toucans eat fruit, so the character of Toucan Sam had a similar diet. He caught the breakfast scent and followed his nose to find and eat the fruity cereal. Even the three shades on his beak reflected his quest, then-representing the colors of the original Froot Loops lineup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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