Snap, Crackle, and Pop! are the cartoon mascots of Kellogg's breakfast cereal Rice Krispies (Australia: Rice Bubbles.)
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The gnomes[1] characters were originally designed by illustrator Vernon Grant in the early 1930s. The names are an onomatopoeia and were derived from a Rice Krispies radio ad:
The first elf appeared on the product's packaging in 1933, Grant added two more and named the trio Snap, Crackle and Pop.[1] Snap is always portrayed with a baker's hat and Pop with the military cap of a marching band leader. Crackle's red or striped stocking cap leaves his occupation ambiguous.[1] Corporate promotional material describes their personalities as resembling brothers. Snap is the oldest and a problem solver, Crackle is an unsure "middle child" and Pop is a mischievous youngster.[1]
From their original design as elderly gnomes with large noses, ears and hats, Snap, Crackle, and Pop were reimagined with younger and more proportional features in 1949. They first appeared as animated characters in the 1960s, targeted towards such children's shows as The Howdy Doody Show.[1] The voices of the original gnomes[1] ] were provided by Daws Butler, Paul Winchell and Don Messick. More recent voices have included Chris Evans, Keith Chegwin, Chad Doreck, Eddie Deezen, Thom Adcox-Hernandez and Dino Andrade. As of 2009, the three gnomes[1] ] are voiced by Andy Hirsch (Snap), Danny Cooksey (Crackle) and Mark Ballou (Pop).
The trio were used in conservation messages during World War II and briefly re-imagined as superheroes in the early 1990s, but later returned to their original elf-like form. Likewise, there was briefly a fourth gnome [1] in the 1950s named Pow who was represented the explosive nutritional value of Rice Krispies.[2]
Leo Burnett Worldwide assigned Chicago-based cartoonist Don Margolis to do Snap, Crackle and Pop for the Rice Krispies boxes as well as other applications. Davidson Marketing also used him for their Rice Krispies assignments. Don did the three gnomes[1] until the end of 1998.