In the pantheon of breakfast cereal mascots (if there is such a thing), it’s certain that Tony the Tiger is top cat.

The cartoon spokesman for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes has been hyping the cereal since 1952. And so, it was fitting that for National Cereal Day (March 7^th), Kellogg’s launched a special line of branded T-shirts in honor of Tony. The collection features seven tees, each design depicting Tony as he was in a different decade – from the 1950s up through 2019. They’re available at Kellogg’s NYC Café and online here for $28 each.

Collectors of pop culture “kitsch” and those nostalgic for their younger days of chowing down on Frosted Flakes and watching morning cartoons will probably dig the tees. They’re interesting, too, in that they depict how illustrators have crafted Tony differently over the years.

For instance, 1950s Tony is quite slender compared to subsequent iterations beginning in the 1970s and onward. (Indeed, 2019 Tony looks a bit like he has been hanging out with Barry Bonds.) The 1950s Tony also didn’t have the blue nose Tony would come to sport starting in the 60s.

Kellogg’s T-shirt showing Tony the Tiger from the 1950s.

Kellogg’s T-shirt showing Tony the Tiger from 2019.

Other little subtle changes include that Tony had green eyes in the 1950s and 1960s, when his tongue also stuck out slightly as if to suggest he’d just enjoyed a delicious mouthful of Frosted Flakes. His eye shade changed to a tigery yellow as time went on. Also, it would appear that his trademark neck bandana began as a patterned accessory, but did not bear his written name, as it now does, until the 1980s.

Kellogg’s T-shirt showing Tony the Tiger from the 1960s.

Kellogg’s T-shirt showing Tony the Tiger from the 1980s.

Personally, we’re partial to Tony from the 50s and 60s. Still, we liked them all – except maybe 1970s Tony. He looks, well, like he was really into the 70s, judging by those wildly dilated eyes, if you know what we mean (Think Dazed and Confused, folks).

Anyway, the Kellogg’s Tony tees do a great job of leveraging the ample history of a powerful brand by turning it into something tangible that fans can engage with and enjoy – not to mention wear, which only helps further build brand awareness. It's promotional products done right.