Rudolph “Rudy” Perz was born on December 6, 1925 in Chicago and attended the University of Illinois in Chicago. After graduating, Perz worked for the Walter J. Thompson and Leo Burnett advertising firms in Chicago. 

Rudy was working for the Chicago-based Leo Burnett advertising agency when he was tasked with finding an advertisement strategy for Pillsbury products. After an exhausting effort, Perz popped open one of the cardboard tubes and imagined a small boy made out of the dough. After dressing the character with a chef’s hat, scarf and big blue eyes, Poppin’ Fresh was born in 1965.

The original Poppin’ Fresh was a ‘Doughboy’ which was animated in a similar way to today’s Claymation. Early advertisements featuring Poppin’ Fresh would require over 700 photographs just to create a 30 second commercial.

The character went on to become one of the most successful advertising campaigns of all time, with Pillsbury still featuring him in their commercials 50 years later.

Learn more:
Advertising Age – Rudolph Perz
New York Times – Rudolph Perz