Funny Face Drink Mix was one of the most recognizable powdered soft drink brands of the 1960s and early 1970s, remembered for its brightly colored flavors, whimsical advertising, and memorable cartoon mascots. Introduced by the Pillsbury in 1964, the product entered a rapidly growing market for inexpensive powdered beverage mixes that could be prepared at home by simply adding water.
The concept appealed to families because it provided an economical alternative to bottled soft drinks while offering children colorful, fruit-flavored beverages that seemed fun and exciting. Each package made an entire pitcher of drink, making it a popular pantry staple during an era when convenience foods were becoming increasingly common in American households. The brand was designed to compete with other powdered drink mixes, particularly Kool-Aid, and it quickly gained attention
through its distinctive package artwork and imaginative flavor names. Much of Funny Face’s popularity came from its cast of cartoon characters, each representing a different flavor. Among the best-known were Goofy Grape, Freckle Face Strawberry, Rootin’ Tootin’ Raspberry, Chinese Cherry, Injun Orange, Loud-Mouth Lime, and Lefty Lemon. These mascots appeared on the front of every package with exaggerated facial
expressions that reinforced the “Funny Face” theme. The characters were brought to life in television commercials through lively animation and catchy jingles that encouraged children to identify each flavor by its humorous personality. The advertising often featured the mascots singing or speaking directly to viewers while emphasizing how easy it was to make an entire pitcher of the colorful beverage.
The campaign proved memorable enough that many people who grew up during the 1960s still recall the jingles decades later. As American society became increasingly aware of racial stereotypes during the late 1960s, two of the original mascots came under criticism. Chinese Cherry and Injun Orange relied on caricatures that reflected outdated and offensive ethnic stereotypes. Responding to growing public concern,
the company redesigned the product line in 1970, replacing those characters with Choo Choo Cherry and Jolly Olly Orange. The new mascots eliminated the racial imagery while preserving the playful personality of the brand. Although the changes were generally accepted, they reflected a broader shift in American advertising as companies gradually abandoned ethnic caricatures that had once been considered acceptable in marketing aimed at children.
The drink itself was known for its intensely sweet flavor and vivid colors rather than for tasting like natural fruit juice. Consumers generally described Funny Face beverages as sugary, refreshing, and similar to other powdered fruit drinks of the era. Each flavor possessed its own distinct personality, although many people remember that the differences between flavors were less dramatic than the colorful packaging suggested.
The mixes dissolved easily in water and produced brightly colored drinks that appealed especially to children. Their affordability also made them popular for birthday parties, school lunches, and summer gatherings, where a single envelope could produce enough beverage for an entire family. One of the most significant controversies surrounding Funny Face involved its use of artificial sweeteners. Originally, the drink mixes were sweetened primarily with cyclamate1, an artificial sweetener that became extremely popular during the 1960s because it provided sweetness without the calories of sugar. Cyclamate was considered safe for several years and
appeared in numerous diet products and drink mixes. However, in 1969 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned cyclamate after laboratory studies suggested that extremely high doses might increase the risk of bladder cancer in laboratory rats. Although later scientific reviews questioned the relevance of those studies to humans, the ban remained in effect in the United States.
Manufacturers of products containing cyclamate, including Funny Face, were forced to reformulate their recipes, generally switching to combinations of sugar and saccharin or other sweetening systems. Many consumers believed the reformulated drinks tasted noticeably different from the originals, and some longtime fans felt the new versions lacked the distinctive flavor they remembered. The cyclamate ban occurred during a period of increasing public skepticism about artificial food additives,
preservatives, and synthetic ingredients. As nutrition became a greater concern among American consumers during the 1970s, products that had once been marketed almost exclusively on convenience and fun faced greater scrutiny regarding their ingredients. While Funny Face remained on store shelves after its reformulation, it struggled to maintain the enthusiasm it had enjoyed during its peak years.
Competition from Kool-Aid, Wyler’s, and other powdered beverages also intensified, making it more difficult for the brand to retain market share. Television advertising remained central to Funny Face’s identity throughout its most successful years. Commercials frequently featured animated versions of the mascots singing upbeat theme songs while encouraging
children to ask their parents for Funny Face. The advertisements emphasized that the product was easy to prepare, economical, and available in a variety of amusing flavors. Bright colors, simple animation, and memorable jingles reflected the advertising style of children’s programming during the 1960s, when Saturday morning cartoons became a major venue for food marketers. The mascots also appeared in print advertising, promotional materials, and point-of-sale displays,
helping to establish a cohesive visual identity that made the product instantly recognizable in grocery stores. Although Funny Face gradually disappeared from the marketplace during the 1980s, it has remained an enduring symbol of mid-century American consumer culture. Collectors actively seek original packages, advertising signs, and television commercials, particularly those featuring the original character artwork before the 1970 redesign.
The brand is frequently remembered with nostalgia by Baby Boomers and Generation X consumers who associate it with childhood summers, neighborhood play, and an era when colorful powdered drinks were a common household treat. Today, Funny Face serves as an interesting example of how changing cultural attitudes, evolving food science, government regulation,
and shifting consumer tastes can shape the life cycle of a once-popular grocery product. Its history reflects both the optimism of postwar convenience foods and the growing awareness that marketing practices and food ingredients would increasingly be judged by higher social and scientific standards.
Footnotes
- Cyclamate is a non-nutritive artificial sweetener that was discovered in 1937 by graduate student Michael Sveda at the University of Illinois and later developed commercially as a low-calorie sugar substitute. Chemically known as cyclamic acid and its sodium or calcium salts, cyclamate is approximately 30 to 50 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar) and is often blended with other sweeteners, particularly saccharin, to produce a more sugar-like taste while masking the bitter aftertaste that some artificial sweeteners can have. During the 1950s and 1960s, cyclamate became widely used in diet soft drinks, tabletop sweeteners, powdered beverage mixes, and other reduced-calorie foods. However, in 1969 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned its use in foods and beverages after studies suggested that extremely high doses might be linked to bladder cancer in laboratory rats, although subsequent research has questioned the relevance of those findings to humans. Despite the continuing U.S. ban, cyclamate has been approved for use in more than 100 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and many members of the European Union, where regulatory agencies have concluded that it is safe when consumed within established acceptable daily intake limits. Today, cyclamate remains one of several artificial sweeteners used internationally to reduce sugar and calorie content in foods and beverages while continuing to be the subject of scientific review and regulatory oversight. ↩︎
Further Reading
Sources
- Wikipedia “Funny Face (drink mix)” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funny_Face_(drink_mix)
- The Imaginary World “Funny Face Packs” https://theimaginaryworld.com/ffpac.html
- Food52 “Maybe These Pillsbury Drink Mix Mascots Are Best Left in 1965” https://food52.com/story/18562-maybe-these-pillsbury-drink-mix-mascots-are-best-left-in-1965
- Fandom “Funny Face” https://cursed-commercials.fandom.com/wiki/Funny_Face
- Nostalgia Central “Funny Face” https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/food-drink/funny-face-2/
