Editing Pillsbury Doughboy (section)

== History ==
The Pillsbury Doughboy was conceived by Rudolph "Rudy" Perz, a copywriter at Pillsbury's advertising agency, Leo Burnett. In the spring of 1965, while brainstorming a campaign for Pillsbury's refrigerated dough line, Perz and his colleague Carol H. Williams imagined a living doughboy emerging from a Pillsbury dough can. Williams wrote the "Say Hello to Poppin' Fresh Dough" campaign, which became a hallmark of the brand. Her contributions to advertising earned her a place in the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame in 2017.

Paul Frees was the original voice of Poppin' Fresh, serving as the character's voice for 21 years until his death in 1986. Subsequent voice actors included Jeff Bergman (1986–2014), JoBe Cerny (giggles since 2014), and others such as Peter New, Fred Young, and Jeremy Geller. In two UK commercials in 1976, British voice actor Peter Hawkins provided the Doughboy’s voice.

Initially, the Doughboy was animated using stop-motion techniques. Cascade Pictures created a foam rubber puppet with ball-and-socket armatures, and the head was crafted from resin with interchangeable mouth shapes for frame-by-frame animation. In 1992, the animation transitioned to CGI, which continues to be used today.

In the 1970s, Pillsbury introduced the Doughboy’s family as part of a toy line that included dolls and playsets. The family members include:

* Poppin’ Fresh (the Doughboy)
* Poppie Fresh (his wife, girlfriend, or sister—debated among collectors)
* Granpopper and Granmommer (grandparents)
* Popper (son) and Bun-Bun (baby daughter)
* Flapjack (dog) and Biscuit (cat)
* Uncle Rollie

In 2010, Pillsbury’s lawyers issued a cease-and-desist order to My Dough Girl, a cookie retailer in Salt Lake City, Utah, over trademark concerns. Reports suggested that General Mills, Pillsbury’s parent company, instructed the retailer not to speak to the press.