Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, the longtime mascot for Cocoa Puffs, is known for his frantic and crazed love for the chocolatey breakfast cereal. However, it seems like General Mills has decided it’s time for the mascot to grow up, because the company just announced that the Cocoa Puffs bird now reacts to cereal in a non-cuckoo, adult way.
Wow. It’s good to see Sonny finally behaving like an adult.
For decades, a staple of every Cocoa Puffs commercial was Sonny the Cuckoo Bird doing whatever it took to get his hands on a bowl of Cocoa Puffs before shouting his signature catchphrase, “I’m cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!” But according to an announcement made by General Mills this morning, Sonny the Cuckoo Bird’s eyes will no longer pop six feet out of his skull at the sight of Cocoa Puffs, nor will he maniacally pinball off the walls in anticipation of the chocolatey taste, as he now feels that cereal is just something you eat sometimes and there’s not much else to it.
“While Sonny’s hysterical reaction to a bowl of cereal has long been an iconic part of the Cocoa Puffs brand, he’s an adult now, and he needs to react to cereal in a normal, adult way instead of like a drug-addled lunatic,” explained General Mills in a press release. “No one can go nuts over a bowl of cereal forever. Now that Sonny is an adult, he understands that cereal is merely a food he can buy at the store with money from his marketing job whenever he wants. He could take it or leave it, like all adults do.”
The company’s announcement was accompanied by a new commercial which begins with a shot of Sonny waking up at 6 a.m. in a sparse high rise apartment. He puts on a pot of coffee and opens up his pantry for something to eat. He takes out a canister of oatmeal, but realizes it’s empty. He sees a box of Cocoa Puffs and takes it out. He stares at the box for a moment, then shrugs and debuts his new catchphrase, “Hmm. These’ll do.” The commercial ends with a shot of Sonny quietly playing Wordle on his iPad as he calmly eats a bowl of Cocoa Puffs at the table.
Damn. It seems like Sonny’s definitely all grown up now.
General Mills continued to say that Sonny’s favorite breakfast food is no longer even Cocoa Puffs, but rather two eggs over medium with a side of avocado, but the company has assured customers that Sonny’s response even to that breakfast is just mild, reserved appreciation.
This is a major change for such a well-known mascot, but it looks like General Mills really felt like it was time for Sonny to chill out. Sound off below if you’re excited to see this new era of Sonny the Cuckoo Bird!
