Who Is the Pringles Man? The Secret Origins of the Pringles Mascot
The man on the can has a name you won't forget.
Whether you grab BBQ, sour cream and onion, cheddar cheese, or even dill pickle, the man with the moustache on the Pringles container is one of the most recognizable brand mascots in the snack food aisle. But who is he, and what’s his story?
What is the Pringles man called?
The Pringles man is as instantly recognizable as other brand mascots like Chester Cheetah and Tony the Tiger, and like those two, he has an actual name: Julius Pringles. While embodying many looks over the years, Julius Pringles has always sported a recognizable bushy moustache that, if you look closely enough, has always resembled two Pringles chips put together.
Julius Pringles has just been a floating head since 1967 and has had many fans wondering what the rest of his body might look like. Was he long and lean? Or short and stout from eating all those Pringles? Well, last year, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver announced that he would donate $10,000 to Feeding America if they revealed the mysterious body of Julius Pringles. The company posted a video on Twitter of a man in a costume, and Oliver delivered on his promise.
The history of the Pringles man
The history of the Pringles man is murky, but there are a few notable players in his development. The first key contributor is Gene Wolfe, the science fiction writer, who actually helped establish the machine that makes Pringles. Another key player was chemist and food technician Fred Baur, who created the cylinder-shaped can after experimenting with chip storage so they wouldn’t break. And Alexander Liepa, from Montgomery, Ohio, brought the flavour to the chips and is the name that appears on the Pringles patent. So while we don’t know exactly who came up with Julius Pringle, the men behind the product may have been some sort of inspiration.
When Julius Pringle was born, he had a plump black moustache, red eyes, eyebrows, and black hair parted down the middle. The Pringles logo proudly appears inside his bowtie. In 1979, the logo was altered to remove the red eyes and include a small smile. The next change happened in 1986, when the brand removed the apostrophe from “Pringles,” and changed the design of the eyes. The rosy cheeks that Julius sported disappeared in the 1990s. You likely know the 2000s logo best; you can see the “Pringles” logo was dropped from the bowtie and he was given a more stylish red one and floppy brown hair that finally sits on top of his round head instead of in it. If you look closely, you can even see the “i” is dotted with a chip in 2009’s logo.
The most recent logo is naturally the most modern-looking of them all. Drum roll, please!
Pringles’ new logo
Julius Pringle has a crisp new appearance. First of all, let’s talk about the obvious. The man is now bald—sorry, Julius. His moustache is now a solid black and his eyes are a bit beadier as the pupils have been removed. Julius Pringles’ eyebrows are even more expressive and the bowtie looks a bit sharper.
If you were concerned about the taste, have no fear. Pringles still taste exactly the way they always have—and that’s delicious. Now that you can impress your friends will all this knowledge about the Pringles man, check out these hidden messages in iconic corporate logos.
Sources
- Inside Hook: “The Real and True History of Julius Pringles, The Man on the Can”
- Mashed: “Does The Pringles Mascot Have A Name?”
- Mental Floss: “12 Crispy Facts About Pringles”
- Prezi: “Pringles Logo History”
- Food Network: “Mr. Pringles Gets a Glow Up”
