Sugar Bear

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For other uses, see Sugar Bear (disambiguation).
Sugar Bear
Voiced byGerry Matthews
In-universe information
SpeciesBear
GenderMale
OccupationMascot of Golden Crisp

Sugar Bear is the

Post Super Sugar Crisp (later Golden Crisp) cereal.[1]

History

Sugar Bear originally appeared in the 1940s as the mascot of Sugar Crisp (later known as

Post brand. The original bear was designed by Robert "Bob" Irwin, a graphic designer for Post Cereal[citation needed] and voiced, in animated commercials, for 40 years by Gerry Matthews in emulation of a Bing Crosby or Dean Martin persona[3] – a shallow-eyed, easy going character who crooned his cereal's praises to the tune of "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
".

He was made a character in the 1964

Saturday morning cartoon Linus the Lionhearted. Most of the characters in the series, sponsored by General Foods, were mascots for Post cereal products (permitted at that time, later banned by the American Federal Trade Commission (FTC)).[4]

Sugar Bear normally wore a blue turtleneck sweater with his name on the front, and in the 1980s a bite of Super Sugar Crisp would turn him into the muscular "Super Bear" (this alter ego was used to fight monsters who would steal the cereal). Several commercials in the mid 1980s had him using mere casual gestures to outsmart the aggressive tendencies of other animals. Examples include 1987 spots featuring Sugar Bear riding an

matador to a raging bull, and sparring with irate sharks
of the ocean.

His consistent nemesis was an elderly woman called Granny Goodwitch, with whom he engaged in elaborate contests, often involving trickery,

magic, and high technology
to decide who got a box of the cereal. In the end, Granny Goodwitch was never angry with Sugar Bear. Other nemeses included Blob, whose breakfast included pickles and soda; and Sugar Fox, who always tried and failed to keep Sugar Bear from getting his box of Super Sugar Crisp.

The Sugar Bear character was popular enough to have occasional premium toys. A

Wacky Wobbler
was released by Funko Inc.

Presently, Sugar Bear is being illustrated for the box covers by commercial illustrator Seymour Schachter.

Musical group

In 1971, producer

bubblegum pop studio group named the Sugar Bears. A cardboard cut-out record was produced and printed on the back of thousands of Super Sugar Crisp cereal boxes. The illustrated record identified four members: Sugar Bear, Honey Bear, Shoobee Bear, and Doobee Bear. Five different versions of the record were printed, each with one of five songs shown on the label. A commercial album, Presenting the Sugar Bears, and three singles were released by Big Tree Records with one song, "You Are the One", reaching No. 51 on the Billboard charts.[5][6]

References

  1. ISBN 0-13-275561-0
    . Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. ^ "The Golden Crisp Story: Can't Get Enough of that Golden Crisp". Post Foods. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  3. ^ "Sugar Bear's Legacy of Cool". Post Consumer Brands. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  4. ^ Webster, Andy (30 August 2007). "Trouble in Paradise? Call a Shaman, Hold the PlayStation". New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Presenting the Sugar Bears at BadCatRecords". Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Lost in the 70s: The Sugar Bears at popdose.com". 2009-01-08. Retrieved 19 January 2015.

External links

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