Boo Berry Vintage Bath Towel General Mills 1973 Icon $100
“I vant to eat your cereal!”
“The First cereal trademark character was the Quaker Oats man (used because the Quaker faith projected the values of honesty, integrity, purity and strength) which dates from the late 1800s” Antique Road Show/Sept 2014). This along with the Cream of Wheat’s chef were among the earliest icons, but they lacked personality or direction.
Roar, Boys, Roar, It tastes like more, What a flavor, Zippity-zow – its grand – and how!
The next step in cereal history was the endorsement angle. Kellogg seems to have started this with “Our Gang” kids in the 1920. ” Wheaties is the name of a breakfast cereal created in 1922 after a mixture of wheat bran accidentally spilled onto a hot stove producing some crispy flakes..at a Minnesota company named Washburn Crosby, later … General Mills. .. was soon… sold as “Washburn’s Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes.” After a time, … simply named Wheaties. Early on in Wheaties’ marketing, the cereal began an association with sports, and baseball in particular. In 1927, Wheaties advertising appeared on a billboard at …home the Minneapolis Millers minor league baseball team. The first slogan for the cereal… became: “Wheaties — The Breakfast of Champions.” http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/1930s-advertising/
$8.30
“Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids!”
According to Antique Road Show Insider with the exception of Snap Crackle and Pop (1930’s) the majority of the cereal mascots arrived in the 50’s and 60’s.
“I’m Rapmaster Barney and I’m here to say, I love Fruity Pebbles in a major way!”
Then there’s the cereal box prizes and send for items featured on the box themselves. While the send away items are easy to find now the box prizes are not.
$265.00
“Race for the taste, the honey sweet taste!, the honey-nutty taste of Honey Nut Cheerios”
Today “most cereal character items–even 1940’s and 1950’s pieces–can be found for $10 – $125. Exceptions include actual cereal boxes themselves and retail cereal displays which are rare.
Show’em you’re a tiger, Show’em what you can do, the taste of Tony’s Frosted Flakes, brings out the tiger in you, in you!