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{{short description|Breakfast cereal made by Kellogg's}}
{{Infobox brand
| name           = Corn Pops
| logo           = Corn Pops logo.svg
| logo_size   = 150
| image          = Kellogg's Corn POPS – Sweetened Corn Cereal, with milk.jpg
| image_size   = 200
| caption        =Kellogg's Corn POPS – Sweetened Corn Cereal, with milk 
| producttype    = [[Breakfast cereal]]
| currentowner   = [[WK Kellogg Co]]
| producedby     = 
| country        = U.S.
| introduced     = {{start date and age|1950}}
| discontinued   = 
| related        = 
| markets        = 
| previousowners = [[Kellogg's]] (1950-2023)
| trademarkregistrations = 
| ambassadors    = 
| tagline        = 
| website        = {{url|https://www.kelloggs.com/en_US/products/kellogg-s-corn-pops-cereal-product.html|kelloggs.com/cornpops}}
| module         = <!-- or: misc -->
| module1        = <!-- or: misc1 -->
| footnotes     =
}}
'''Corn Pops''' is a [[puffed grain]] [[breakfast cereal]] made by [[WK Kellogg Co]], described by the company as "crunchy sweetened popped-up corn cereal." The cereal was introduced in 1950 as "Corn Pops".<ref>Advertisements for Kellogg's Corn Pops exist in newspapers published in 1950 including the Long Beach Independent May 5, 1950, Long Beach, California and Bakersfield Californian, May 10, 1950, Bakersfield, California.</ref> In 1951, the name was changed to "Sugar Corn Pops"<ref>In the beginning of the December 16, 1951 episode "Wheels of Doom" of the radio show ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'', [[Andy Devine]] noted the new name change to Sugar Corn Pops.</ref> and later{{when|date=May 2022}} to "Sugar Pops". It was the sponsor for ''[[The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok]]'' radio and television show.  The name was changed back to 'Sugar Corn Pops' in 1978, and finally returned to 'Corn Pops' in 1984, a time when many cereals dropped the word "[[sugar]]" from their titles for marketing reasons. In January 2006, the name of the cereal was changed to 'Pops', but after a few months of poor reception was changed back to Corn Pops.

In mid-2007, Corn Pops launched its first line extension in many years called "Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops".  In 2012, "Cinnamon Corn Pops" were introduced.

== Overview ==
Corn Pops are made from [[cornmeal|milled corn]]. Though the name of the cereal is 'Corn' Pops, since January 2004,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.peanutallergy.com/boards/kellogs-corn-pops-wheat-alert|title = Kellogs Corn Pops (WHEAT ALERT)}}</ref> its ingredients have included [[wheat starch]], essentially making the cereal multigrain. By 2007, [[Coconut Oil|coconut oil]] was added to the US ingredients.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC245/333/8015/373716.html?d=dmtICNNews |title=InteliHealth |access-date=2008-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213224105/http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC245/333/8015/373716.html?d=dmtICNNews |archive-date=2008-02-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
The American version features an irregular, flattened, smooth [[ellipse|elliptical]], shape; Canadian Corn Pops look very different; they are uniformly [[Sphere|spherical]] and have a porous surface, similar to [[Kix (cereal)|Kix]]. The taste and texture of the Canadian and American versions of the cereal differ considerably despite sharing the same name and manufacturer.  Kellogg's says this is due to raw ingredients and the regulatory agencies that exist in a particular country, and that its cereal differs by country also by virtue of marketing and culture.  Research is done in different countries to determine preferences, and the formula for the cereal is changed accordingly, affecting the texture, color, and nutrition.  The [[fat]], [[cholesterol]], and [[protein]] content is the same.

Unlike the vast majority of breakfast cereals, Corn Pops in the USA was packaged in a [[Aluminium foil|foil]]-covered paper bag until the mid-2010s.  This helped to prevent the Pops from going stale and from secreting a sticky substance that caused the corn pops to stick together (a problem caused by the method by which the cereal is processed).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfoilbag.html |title=The Straight Dope Mailbag: The Straight Dope Mailbag: Why do Corn Pops come in a silver bag? |website=www.straightdope.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000408204614/http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfoilbag.html |archive-date=2000-04-08}} </ref> [[Honey Smacks]], another Kellogg's [[puffed grain]] cereal, used the same bag Corn Pops used. However, the Canadian version of Corn Pops had long been packaged in a standard plastic cereal bag, now used for American Pops as well.

==Ingredients==
{{Update|section|date=May 2024|reason=Trans fats are now [[Trans_fat#United_States|banned in the United States]]}}
Although the cereal contains [[Hydrogenation|partially hydrogenated]] [[fat]]s, it is marketed as [[trans-fat]] free since the amount of trans fat per serving is less than the threshold 0.5&nbsp;grams/serving.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kelloggs.ca/cgi-bin/klog-canada/product.pl?product=25&company=2 |title=Kellogg Canada Inc. - Products |accessdate=2007-04-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20030714131502/http://www.kelloggs.ca/cgi-bin/klog-canada/product.pl?product=25&company=2 |archivedate=2003-07-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.kelloggs.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?brand=138&product=558&cat=cereal |title=Kellogg's |accessdate=2007-04-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209134751/http://www2.kelloggs.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?brand=138&product=558&cat=cereal |archivedate=2007-02-09 }}</ref> The cereal also contains [[monoglycerides]] and [[diglycerides]], used to bind saturated fat, and [[Butylated hydroxytoluene|butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)]], a preservative.<ref>[http://247wallst.com/2011/06/22/247-wall-st-ten-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2012/3/ 24/7 Wall St. Ten Brands That Will Disappear In 2012], 24/7 Wall St., 22-07-2011, access date 28-12-2011</ref>

==Marketing==

===Mascots and spokespeople===
[[File:Corn Pops cereal characters.png|thumb|Corn Pops used a variety of stop-motion and puppet characters for its commercials.]]
[[Guy Madison]], the star of ''[[The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok]]'' television show, appeared on the box from 1951 through 1958, occasionally replaced by sidekick Jingles played by [[Andy Devine]]. Between 1959 and 1967, the mascot was [[Woody Woodpecker]]. The next mascot for the cereal was "Sugar Pop Pete", a [[prairie dog]] dressed as a cowboy with two "six-shooters" with red and white spiral-striped barrels. Pete and the other actors in the commercial sang the jingle: "Oh, the Pops are sweeter and the taste is new. They're shot with sugar, through and through... Sugar Pops are tops!"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dotz |first1=Warren |last2=Morton |first2=Jim |title=What a Character! 20th Century American Advertising Icons |date=1996 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=0-8118-0936-6 |page=106}}</ref> From 1968 to 1977, the mascot was the "Whippersnapper", a live-action, whip-cracking cowboy. 1979-80 the mascot "Big Yella" was born. A cartoon cowboy in a huge yellow ten-gallon hat, yellow chaps, boots, shirt and vest who tried to trade his collection of giant yellow objects for a bowl of Corn Pops. From 1980 to 1983, a porcupine named "Poppy" represented the cereal. Poppy carried around a yellow suitcase which contained a complete breakfast setting, meeting the by-then industry-standard "part of a complete breakfast" tagline. In early 2009, a live actor dressed up as a Corn Pops puff became the new mascot of Corn Pops.

In 2007, Kellogg's introduced an alternative mascot named the "Sweet Toothasaur", consisting of the upside down bottom half of an actor's face, with a green felt cap with googly eyes and red paper horns on the actor's chin. The Sweet Toothasaur terrorized a city of stop-motion Corn Pops characters. The animation studio [[Screen Novelties]] (known for ''[[Robot Chicken]]'') created some of these stop-motion commercials for the cereal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screen-novelties.com/gotta-have-our-pops/|title=Gotta Have Our Pops|work=[[Screen Novelties]]|date=August 19, 2009}}</ref>

==Outside the USA==

===Canada and France===

Unlike the American Corn Pops, in Europe and Canada the cereal consists of small, spherical, uniform balls. Both versions are crunchier and have a different taste than the American version.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-08 |title=Review: Corn Pops Cereal (American vs. Canadian) - Cerealously |url=https://www.cerealously.net/review-corn-pops-american-vs-canadian/ |access-date=2022-05-02 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===
In 1993, Corn Pops were introduced in the United Kingdom but by 2004, they were no longer available. The tagline used in the UK was different: "You can't stop a corn popper popping more corn." Corn Pops sponsored UK boy band [[Take That]]'s 1994 tour, known as "The Pops Tour".

==Controversies==

Corn Pops attracted attention in 2017 when author [[Saladin Ahmed]] observed that the art on the back of the Corn Pops box, which depicted a number of anthropomorphized Corn Pops playing and participating in various activities, featured just one Corn Pop which was brown colored, which was portrayed working as a janitor washing the floor. Ahmed posted his observations to [[Twitter]], where they went viral. Kellogg's responded to Ahmed on Twitter apologizing for the artwork, and the artwork was changed for future boxes of the cereal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Marquez |first=RJ |date= October 26, 2017 |title=Brown-colored Corn Pop image on Kellogg's cereal box stirs racial controversy |url=https://www.ksat.com/news/2017/10/26/brown-colored-corn-pop-image-on-kelloggs-cereal-box-stirs-racial-controversy/ |work=KSAT |access-date=7 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Kara |date= October 26, 2017 |title=Kellogg's Redesigns Corn Pops Cereal Box After Accusation of Racist Artwork |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kellogg-s-redesigns-corn-pop-s-cereal-box-after-accusation-n814656 | work=[[NBC News]] |access-date=7 May 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{official website}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv3l-PdtFKs 1960s Sugar Pops commercial with Sugar Pops Pete]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_IaO6oFf10 1980 Sugar Pops commercial with Big Yella]

{{WK Kellogg Co}}
{{Kellogg's}}

[[Category:Kellogg's cereals]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1950]]