1991 commercial for Kelloggs CoCo Pops.

Cocoa Pops (known as Choco Krispis, Choco Krispies, or Coco Pops outside of the United States) is a breakfast cereal produced by Kellogg’s. It is a cocoa-flavored version of Rice Krispies. Containing a substance imitating milk chocolate, the cereal can quickly turn milk “chocolatey.”

The cereal is known as Choco Krispis in Portugal, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, and Choco Krispies in Spain, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It was introduced in the United Kingdom as Coco Pops in 1961, and is also known by that name in Denmark, Bulgaria, Ghana, Malta, New Zealand, Ireland, Finland, Italy, Greece, Sweden, Israel, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, Hong Kong, Lebanon and Australia. Later in the 1960s, the name was changed to “Coco Krispies,” but subsequently reverted back to Coco Pops. In 1998, the cereal was briefly renamed again in the UK, this time to Choco Krispies. However, in 1999, after falling sales and a telephone poll in which the British public voted, its name reverted back to Coco Pops. The cereal was known as Cocoa Krispies when it was marketed in Canada, but it is no longer distrusted there.

Several spin-off cereals using the “Coco Pops” name, such as Coco Pops Crunchers, Coco Chex, Coco Rocks, Coco Pops Straws and Coco Pops Mega Munchers have also been released by Kellogg’s in some countries. Kellogg’s recently released a new cereal under the Coco Pops range called Coco Pops Moon & Stars, which is basically some of the Rice Krispies multigrain range in chocolate.

Mascots

Coco Pops first appeared in the United States in 1958 (Cocoa Krispis) , represented by a monkey named Jose. He was quickly replaced by Coco the elephant in 1959. In 1963, the Hanna-Barbera character Snagglepuss took over as the mascot. Ogg the caveman took over in 1968. In 1971, Tusk the elephant became the mascot of the cereal, and he remained until 1981. Snap, Crackle, and Pop (the mascots of Rice Krispies) also became the mascots for Cocoa Krispies starting in 1981. In 1990, the mascot became Coco the Monkey. In 2001, Snap, Crackle, and Pop returned, and they remain the product’s mascots.

The cereal was introduced in the United Kingdom under the “Coco Pops” name in 1961, with Mr. Jinks as the mascot. Later in the 1960s, Sooty (as in Sooty and Sweep) became the mascot for “Coco Pops.” In 1986, Coco the Monkey was introduced, and he remains the mascot in those countries where the cereal is known as “Coco Pops.” In recent years, the design of Coco has been refined to give him a younger look. Coco’s friends are Shortie Giraffe, Alan Aardvark, Heftie Hippo, Fanny Flamingo, Osmelda Ostrich, and Kylie Kangaroo, while Crafty Croc and the gorillas are his arch-enemies.

More recent advertisements (2009) in the United Kingdom have opted away from using Coco and his friends opting for things such as dancing milkmen and astronauts. Coco is still present on the box of the cereal and at the end of the advertisement but is no longer the feature character.

In those countries where the cereal is known as “Choco Krispis,” the mascot is Melvin the Elephant.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia