The Iconic Pringles Mascot Has A Name: Here's The Story Behind It

It happens to us all. You know someone for a while — see them around and even buy their chips — but you never catch their name. Now, nearly 60 years later, it's awkward even to ask. Don't worry, we're here to discreetly let you know that the mustachioed man on every can of Pringles goes by Julius Pringles.

Don't beat yourself up over this; for most of his life, he went unnamed. How the fellow got the moniker is an interesting story. It wasn't until December of 2006, when a couple of bored college students played a prank by adding the name to the Pringles Wikipedia page, that he became more than just "the guy on the can of Pringles." They went on to create a Facebook group to spread the lie. The name felt right, and people online took to it. In 2012, Kellogg bought the Pringles brand, and in 2013, it officially christened the once-anonymous man by trademarking the names Julius Pringles and Mr. P.

Today, Julius Pringles keeps it simple. He has little in the way of facial features, no hair atop his head, and his mustache and eyebrows are solid black. Back when he first introduced himself to us in 1967, he had much more defined features. His head was not just covered in solid, flat black shapes — there were lines that gave his brown eyebrows, mustache, and hair texture. His mustache had a more distinctive curl. The hair on his head looked combed flat and smooth across his scalp, with a middle part. And his cheeks had a healthy, rosy glow.

His face didn't start changing until the mid-1980s, roughly around the same time the company started branching out from the original flavor. Throughout the decades, his whiskers became bushier. Nowadays, they cover up a good portion of his face and have become the defining characteristic that helps Julius Pringles sell the many flavors of Pringles' unique potato crisps.