Hey, funny face!
This character would drive you to drink . . . to drink Pillsbury's powdered fruit juice mix, that is! Funny Face flooded the market during the 1960's, and these fruity fellows went nose to nose with the Kool-Aid "cool" pitcher. The odds were nine to one in this sugared-drink showdown: One Kool Pitcher versus the Funny Face gang: Choo Choo Cherry, Jolly Olly Orange, Goofy Grape, Rootin'-Tootin' Raspberry, Loud Mouth Punch, "With It' Watermelon, and Lefty Lemonade, Ruddi Tutti-Frutti, and Freckle Face Strawberry. And these smiling characters were not only pitchers, they were also mugs! You'd think the deck was stacked in their flavor! But although the American public loved the Funny Faces, their fruit drink never achieved the success its producer had hoped for. In 1980, Pillsbury sold the rights of "Funny Face" to Brady Enterprises, a New England company who still markets the drink on the East Coast.
Here's Choo-Choo Cherry as a plastic mug. He's naturally cherry red, and he's wearing his trademark blue and white conductor's cap. Originally, Choo-Choo Cherry began life as "Chinese Cherry," but his name was changed almost immediately.
