The Long-Standing History Of The Jolly Green Giant Mascot

There have been some forgettable food mascots over the years, but one huge vegetable man remains common knowledge. The Green Giant company was founded in 1903 in Minnesota, but back then, it was called by a different name and only sold small peas. This changed in 1925, when one of the company's directors went to England and brought a can of huge peas to the U.S., dubbing them "Green Giant" peas. Because the name wasn't descriptive enough to be trademakrs, the company created a mascot — the Jolly Green Giant was born.

He wasn't green, though; he was a mad, white caveman holding a huge pea pod, based on a Brother's Grimm fairytale character. They finally made him green in 1930 and, in 1935, the creator of Tony the Tiger gave him a makeover. This is when he took his true form, smiling and wearing a leaf tunic, and was officially named the Jolly Green Giant. He was a friendly guy and all over print ads in the 1940s. In 1949, he had a big birthday party and a special vinyl record was released to celebrate him (and sell more peas, of course). In 1950, the company was officially named after him and changed to Green Giant.

In the 1960s, the Jolly Green Giant was featured in ads with catchy jingles, living amongst farmers and exclaiming, "Ho, ho, ho!" Dolls were created in his likeness and people wrote songs about him. In the 1970s, the Jolly Green Giant moved to the city for a fresh start, but audiences hated the storyline and it got canned. He gained a little sidekick named Sprout, an animated green child. This was also the decade that a gigantic statue of him was erected in Blue Earth, Minnesota, with an accompanying museum nearby.

While many of the mascots from the '80s and '90s didn't survive through the millennium, the Jolly Green Giant continued to be a staple of advertising in the U.S. The giant and his little friend, Sprout, teamed up with the Pillsbury Doughboy, often hanging out together in ads. Sprout was phased out in the 2000s before returning when B&G Foods purchased the company in 2015. Today, he and the Jolly Green Giant still co-represent the brand. The Jolly Green Giant has appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2017, with Sprout joining him in 2020.