The elf-like characters were originally designed by illustrator Vernon Grant in the early 1930s. The names are an onomatopoeia and were derived from a Rice Krispies radio ad: The first character appeared on the product's packaging in 1933. Grant added two more and named the trio Snap, Crackle and Pop. Snap is usually portrayed wearing a chef's toque. Crackle often is shown wearing a red tomte'stuque or "sleeping cap", and Pop often wears a drum major'sshako, but is sometimes also seen with a chef's toque, or an odd combination of both a shako and a toque. Corporate promotional material describes their relationship as resembling that of brothers. Snap is the oldest and is known as a problem solver, Crackle is an unsure "middle child" and known as a jokester, and Pop is a mischievous youngster and the center of attention. There was briefly a fourth gnome in the 1950s named Pow who represented the claimed explosive nutritional value of Rice Krispies. on a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress depicting Snap, Crackle and Pop From their original design as elderly gnomes with large noses, ears and hats, Snap, Crackle and Pop were reimagined with younger and more proportional features in 1949. Some time after 1955, their gnome-like oversized ears became more proportional yet pointed, as seen in common portrayals of elves. They first appeared as animated characters in 1959, targeted toward such children's shows as The Howdy Doody Show. The voices of the original gnomes were provided by Daws Butler, Paul Winchell and Don Messick. More recent voices have included Chris Evans, Keith Chegwin, Chad Doreck, Eddie Deezen, Thom Adcox-Hernandez and Dino Andrade. As of 2009, the three gnomes are voiced by Andy Hirsch, Danny Cooksey and Mark Ballou. The trio were used in conservation messages during World War II and briefly re-imagined as superheroes in the early 1990s, but later returned to their original elf-like form. Likewise, there was briefly a fourth gnome in the 1950s named Pow who represented the claimed explosive nutritional value of Rice Krispies. Leo Burnett Worldwide assigned Chicago-based cartoonist Don Margolis to do Snap, Crackle and Pop for the Rice Krispies boxes as well as other applications. Davidson Marketing also used him for their Rice Krispies assignments. Don did the three gnomes until the end of 1998. On June 17, 2020, former UK Labour politician Fiona Onasanya questioned why popular breakfast cereal Coco Pops was promoted with a monkey, while Rice Krispies used the white-skinned Snap, Crackle and Pop.
