The Frosties Kid Is Dead
Status: Urban Legend
A recent ad for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes shows a blond-haired kid dancing around singing "They're going to taste great!" I think this is a British ad. At least, I've never seen it here in America. And all the references to it I've found occur in the British press. For instance, David Whitehouse writes in the Guardian: Pity the poor Kellogg's marketing department... all they wanted to do was make an advert in which a chirpy young scamp would skip his way through the streets of a suburban town attracting other children like a Pied Piper with a silly ditty about his breakfast. So, they set out to hire an angelic young choirboy with a voice so beautiful it could shatter the beaks of songbirds. Then disaster struck. It appears that, on the way to the shoot, this choirboy's balls dropped with quite monstrous results. They wanted Aled Jones, but they got Mick Jones. And what we're left with is a jingle being sung by a boy at the exact moment his voice breaks, in a tone so monotonous it appears to be operating at a frequency which toys with people's bowels. It is, quite simply, the worst soundtrack to an advertisement ever. His voice is so oppressively dull that prolonged listening is like having every orifice systematically packed full of wet bread by a politician with no facial features.
Evidently this is the kind of ad that people love to hate. And this dislike has inspired a rumor that the kid in the ad is dead. (Google 'Frosties Kid' and you pull up page after page of rumors of his death.) There are two versions of the rumor:1) That the kid committed suicide on account of the bullying he received since the ad aired.
2) That the kid was a cancer patient whose dying wish was to star in a Frosties ad.
I don't know who the Frosties Kid is in real life. So I can't prove that he's alive. But there's absolutely no evidence to support the claim that he's dead. Plus, the 'Frosties Kid Is Dead' rumor seems to be a new variation of the 'Death of Little Mikey' rumor (which alleged that Mikey, of the Life Cereal commercials, died after eating Pop Rocks). So I think it's safe to assume that the Frosties Kid is still alive. (Thanks to Dave Tolomy for telling me about the rumor.)
Update: As Dead-Eric noted in the comments, Scott Mills of BBC Radio 1 recently discussed the 'Frosties Kid Is Dead' rumor on his show. Mills received the following official statement from Kelloggs about the rumor:
"The current advertisement has been well received by the vast majority of our customers. We would also like to take this opportunity to confirm that the lead boy within the advertisement is well and continues to live in his native South Africa."
You can listen to an mp3 clip of this portion of the Scott Mills show here.Posted By: Alex | Date: Thu Jul 06, 2006 | Permalink |
Total Comments: 98
Category: Advertising, Death, Urban Legends
Category: Advertising, Death, Urban Legends
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Page 5 of 5 pages « First < 3 4 5
the Frosties Kids name is Sven Ruygrok. And hes not dead because he goes to Beaulieu College and they have his name listed in a recent Gymnastics event. Search 'Sven Ruygrok' in google and find out for yourself
Posted by the most wanted on Mon Apr 16, 2007 at 09:30 AM
Is the kid's name Sven Ruygrok?
Posted by den on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 11:25 AM
excuse me hes my boyfriend and he is not dead!
he is great in the sack!
(if you no what i mean)
Posted by buffy in kitleys green on Sun Apr 29, 2007 at 03:22 AM
he is great in the sack!
(if you no what i mean)
i belive that the boy commiteded suacide because he was getting bullied from school and that the people that where bulling him a think that they should be punished for wht the have done to this poor boy and that the mother and father of this poor boy must be devistated!!!
Posted by sophia in scotland on Tue May 01, 2007 at 07:39 AM
i H8 that advert. i herd that he put two sharp penclis up his nose and slamed his head on a table, i know its only a roumer now, i think some one should run up to the kid shouting "hey its the frosties kid" and give him a hug to cheer him up, yay
Posted by shaun in england on Tue May 08, 2007 at 01:15 PM
I am the frosties kid! stop bullying me damnit!
Posted by Fred in South Africa on Wed May 09, 2007 at 02:10 AM
he is de coolest guy eva dont dis him
Posted by Matt Hobson in England on Wed May 30, 2007 at 11:16 AM
hobnob's right. hez awsome! lol...x
bit gimpish, but awsome! lol
xxxxxxxxx
Posted by kate in ur mum on Wed May 30, 2007 at 11:18 AM
bit gimpish, but awsome! lol
xxxxxxxxx
On September 5 2006 the UK based Sun newspaper tracked down the Frosties kid to a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. For his own protection the youth would only reveal his name as Sven. He asked: "Can't these fools distinguish between me and a character in an advert?".
Following reports from UK based newspapers, South Africa's Sunday Times interviewed Sven Ruygrok and his mother, who were amused but concerned about internet interest in the advert. Sven's mother reported that it was not her son singing, and that the advert funded a successful gymnastic event in Berlin. Sven Ruygrok attends Beaulieu College and is a candidate for South Africa's gymnastic team in the 2008 Olympic Games.
Posted by Sven Pal in S Africa on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 03:06 PM
Following reports from UK based newspapers, South Africa's Sunday Times interviewed Sven Ruygrok and his mother, who were amused but concerned about internet interest in the advert. Sven's mother reported that it was not her son singing, and that the advert funded a successful gymnastic event in Berlin. Sven Ruygrok attends Beaulieu College and is a candidate for South Africa's gymnastic team in the 2008 Olympic Games.
yh i heard he took his own life. well he must of got sum bullying 4 it coz its a bit of a sad advert, but killed himself, nah no way. i feel bad 4 him if hes bein bullied tho.
Posted by lilj14 in england on Thu Jul 05, 2007 at 09:39 AM
It's a simple cereal advert and i can't believe most people have been so immature at sending the boy such hideous comments.
Posted by dave in London on Mon Nov 12, 2007 at 01:10 PM
He is not dead at all...he is in fact now starring in a south african soap and is one of the main teenagers in this soap...these rumours should be put to rest as can you imagine seeing how people act about your death if you're only a teenager
goodbye xxx
Posted by anon in here on Sat Jan 19, 2008 at 12:59 PM
goodbye xxx
I heard that he put two pencils up his nose, and slammed his head off a desk
Posted by Sergei in Russia on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 07:04 AM
I went for the audition and he beat me to it i hope hes drowned in a bowl of milkfuck forstie boy kid i like beans n mash
Posted by charlie courtenay in stevenage on Thu Mar 26, 2009 at 03:42 AM
I found him (Sven Ruygrok) on facebook and asked him is he the frostie advert kid. Still waiting for a reply.
Posted by Colum Rogers in Manchester on Wed May 20, 2009 at 04:48 PM
in school the rumors are that he stuck a pencil up his nose and hit is head off the desk to kill himself... lol
Posted by CH in colorado on Tue Oct 06, 2009 at 08:40 AM
i hope he is dead inside
Posted by Earth Worm on Mon Oct 12, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Page 5 of 5 pages « First < 3 4 5