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Cereal Box Prizes from the 1970s and 1980s

A blast of retro memories from the Flasbak blog. What can breakfast foods marketers do today that captures the imagination in the same way?

 

 

Kids today will never know the simple joy of finding a prize in a cereal box.  It sounds a bit pathetic now, but in decades past, unearthing a crappy toy from within a box of sugary cereal was like finding buried treasure for a kid in the 1960s-1980s.

Some parents let their children dump out the entire contents of the box to get at the glorious prize within; some let their kids dig their grubby paws, elbow-deep, into the box to catch hold of the cherished booty.  Mine had me wait until the prize fell out naturally when pouring a bowl; an exercise in patience that was borderline child abuse.  With each pouring came the rapturous hope that the prize would make an appearance as it fell into the bowl… but most often resulting in abysmal disappointment.

And what was all this hubbub over cereal box prizes about, anyway?  The toys were generally cheaply made crap.  Perhaps it was because we weren’t given much back then outside of Christmas and birthdays, so we appreciated any sort of present, no matter how pitiful.  I don’t know the answer, but the fact is that appreciation for cereal box toys is gone.  Kellogg’s, the first to put prizes in their cereal boxes, has stopped doing so, as has General Mills and other cereal manufactures.

The reasons cited are lawsuits (choking hazards and other risks that come with small toys can bring legal problems) and trimming down any frills to lower costs.  But I suspect the primary reason is that there isn’t that appreciation for these simple and cheap prizes to make it worthwhile.

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes had the first breakfast cereal prize. In 1909, “The Funny Jungleland Moving Pictures Book” was given to customers in the stores at the time of purchase of two packages of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.  But the cereal box prize didn’t really take off until cheap plastics manufacturing became a reality in the mid-1950s.  Let’s have a look at the many varied examples of prizes found in cereal boxes  from midcentury to its decline by the end of the 1980s.

Sci-Fi Themed Prizes

Had you saved this unopened box, you could sell this it today and retire comfortably

Popular Music Prizes

In 1968, coinciding with the release of Yellow Submarine, came boxes of Nabisco Rice Honeys with Beatles “Rub-Ons” inside.

Candy Prizes

Because parents had no problem with sugary candy as a prize for eating sugary cereal.

Yes, Bazooka was a rock-hard gum that lost its flavor in five seconds, but since it came in the cereal box, suddenly it was special.  In 1981, Coco Puffs offers “Color Bubbles” gum.

In 1982, Pac-Man cereal also offered Color Bubbles, and in 1987, Corn Pops gave us three flavors of Whistling Pops.

In 1983 and 1985, the monster cereals delivered additional sugar to kids via Wacky Wafers and Super Bubble Gum.  Man, no wonder I had so much energy back then – I was hopped up on sugar!

Ice cream cereal doesn’t have enough sugar to satisfy you?  Here, kids, have some gumballs.

In 1978, Crazy Cow cereal offered popsicles, but nothing tops Circus Fun a decade later.  As I recall, Circus Fun could put you into a diabetic coma if you ate more than a small bowl… and to offer Starburst on top of it – wow.

T-Shirts and Clothing Prizes

Eighties kids got G.I. Joe got a “Camo Action T-Shirt Offer”

In 1971, you could get a Globetrotters T-shirt from your box of Count Chocula; in 1985 the monster cereals offered “Shoe Taggers”

Not sure that I would have been caught dead in a “I’m a Smurf Superstar” T-shirt back then, but I’m sure there were plenty who sent in for this “Smurfy T-Shirt Offer”.

What could be cooler than a “Ghost Chompers” cap from your “Crunchy Sweetened Corn Cereal with Marshmallow Bits”?

The 1980 Wheaties box featuring the iconic Jenner picture offered football jerseys for $6.95.

Records for Prizes

Adding to the variety of prizes offered in cereal boxes, you could even get records. The E.T. cereal offered a lousy fifteen cent coupon for the E.T. Storybook.

Book Prizes

In 1961 Wheaties offered Classics Illustrated; a decade later, they dumbed it down a bit for us seventies kids with joke books.  A while back, I included Dynamite as one of the Six Greatest Magazines for Seventies Kids.

Stickers!

Cheerios’ 1978 Keds cards “action stickers” were an embarrassment, but their “Bionic Stickers” from 1976 were epic.

Stickers were huge in the eighties. I’m not sure why kids were obsessed with stickers in those days; but like any fad, there’s rarely a solid reason why it became popular in the first place.

In 1985, S’Mores cereal offered the “Freaky Fascinating Fire Eyes Stickers”, featuring the spooky tiger, fly and owl… and the oddly lethargic alligator.

The 1979 Fruit Brute cereal offered Animal Friends Decals.  Everyone remembers Boo-Berry, Frankenberry and Count Chocula, but we often forget Fruit Bruit (and Yummy Mummy); Quentin Tarantino certainly doesn’t, as he featured this cereal in Pulp Fiction.

Mask Prizes

Late 1940s Wheaties had a whole series of cut-out masks; my favorite being “Iron Jaw the Robot”

Cereal Prize Oddities

Sometimes cereal companies thought “outside the box”

I think it’s a stretch to call this a “Mini Computer”, but it’s still a valiant effort at trying something beyond the standard plastic toy.

I include the Flintstone’s coin holder because I actually used this – not sure exactly why, but I loved this little prize back in the day and kept my precious-few coins in it.

“Desk Signs” seems like an odd idea, but we were suckers for anything free spilling out of a cereal box.

In 1974, Cheerios offered a terrarium as a prize; oddly enough, they weren’t the only cereal company to go with the terrarium idea…

Alpha-Bits offered terrariums from the mid-seventies through 1980. “Each one comes complete with a plastic ‘Earth’ disc and a packet of Luther Burbank Sweet Basil and fine curled cress seeds” – training 70s kids to one day grow more “smokeable” herbs.

Superhero Prizes

What kid could resist these DC superhero prizes? Cheerios offered a dartboard in 1979 and Fruity Pebbles offered posters in 1981.

Outdoor Toys

Now here’s a cereal I wish would make a comeback.  Sir Grapefellow was, as a I remember, purple nirvana.

Monster Prizes

If there was one thing kids back then loved more than superheroes, it was monsters.

Frankenberry – the perfect cereal to munch while wearing your Mork pajamas and watching Superfriends early Saturday morning.  Ah, memories.

The post Cereal Box Prizes from the 1970s and 1980s appeared first on Flashbak.

Difference in Types of Eggs

A nice post from Popsugar on the different labelling that applies to eggs for our North American readers:

 

It’s no secret that eggs are one of the most nutritious foods and complete proteins out there. According to The Egg Nutrition Center, the health education and research center of the American Egg Board, a large egg contains just 70 calories, at least 6 grams of protein, 14 essential nutrients including choline (an essential nutrient involved with memory, mood, and other brain and nervous system functions), and vitamin D, which is known to reduce the risk of chronic health conditions such as diabetes and certain cancers. It’s also the least expensive source of high-quality protein at just 15 cents per egg.

However, when you get to the egg section in the grocery store these days, you might be overwhelmed by all the choices in front of you, from certified organic free-range to pasture-raised and omega-3 enriched eggs. For the longest time, I would say to myself that “eggs are eggs” and just grab the cheapest carton of regular conventional eggs. As it turns out, I wasn’t totally off in that line of thinking. But after reading a little more about the different types of eggs, I gave organic free-range and pasture-raised versions a try. I found that they really do taste slightly better and might be worth spending the extra few bucks on every so often.

According to Starla Garcia, M.Ed, RDN, LD, a registered dietitian in Houston, while some of these eggs might taste better than others, nutritionally speaking, with the exception of omega-3 enriched eggs, none of the different versions are truly “better” or healthier than the others, though there are environmental differences that a person may view as beneficial for the hen. The better taste in certified organic versions of eggs is likely due to their richer yolk color.

 

Here are the differences between the most common labels you’ll see in stores!

Conventional Eggs

These are your standard, no-frills grocery store eggs. The hens are usually fed grain, along with vitamins and minerals. They are also usually the cheapest option!

Certified Organic Eggs

Eggs labeled as “certified organic” have been laid by cage-free or free-range hens on a certified organic feed and have not been treated with hormones. The hen also is able to go to the outdoors. The feed provided is grown without synthetic pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or fertilizers. All ingredients in the feed are 100 percent organic.

“My recommendations are to purchase certified organic organic due to the standards of not only the animal being treated more ethically, but also providing the hen with feed that is also labeled 100 percent organic,” Garcia said.

Free-Range Eggs

Free-range eggs are laid by hens that are not housed in cages or enclosures and have access to the outdoors. These hens are able to eat grains, plants, and the insects they find.

Cage-Free Eggs

Cage-free eggs are laid by hens that are not housed in enclosures. They are able to move around in open areas past their traditional nest space and perches. The difference between these and free-range hens, though, is that cage-free hens might still be raised in over-crowded hen houses and likely aren’t able to roam outside.

Pasture-Raised Eggs

Pasture-raised eggs come from hens that move and forage for food on maintained pasture areas. Pasture-raised egg labels are not recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) due to the fact that no standards have been established for eggs farmed this way. However, research has shown that eggs laid by hens that have spent more time in the sun contain significantly more Vitamin D than others.

Omega-3 Enriched Eggs

These are conventional eggs that come from hens that are fed an omega-3 rich feed. As a result, the eggs have more omega-3 fatty acids (which are known to have many health benefits, including promoting eye health and reducing the risk of heart disease) than the other versions, from 10 to over 600 milligrams per egg.

“If someone did want to purchase eggs with additional nutritional benefits, and they don’t already get enough omega-3s from other food sources, these would be the ones to go with,” Garcia said.

Image Source: Unsplash / Danielle MacInnes

Source

https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Difference-Types-Eggs-45003401?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fitsugar+%28FitSugar+-+Healthy%2C+happy+you.%29

Funko Are Making FunkO’s Cereal With Branded Figures Inside

Taking the breakfast cereal novelty/promotional toy (also called ‘coupons’) right into a modern offering, the collectible POP Vinyl figurine marketer, FunkO, are launching a cereal.

With the popularity of their dolls, the cross over is likely to be in high demand. More from the web below:

Funko Are Making FunkO’s Cereal With Branded Figures Inside

Funko, the makers of the Funko Pop line of figures, is entering the branded cereal business with six new cereals. Each one will have a Funko Pop figure of an iconic character included inside, such as Mega Man and Cuphead. [Thanks, Bleeding Cool!]

Here’s Funko’s introduction to their breakfast cereals below:

Pick up your first box this summer, pour yourself a bowl and watch cartoons!

The Funko FunkO’s will be available in July 2018.

 

Read more stories about on Siliconera.

 

Video game stories from other sites on the web. These links leave Siliconera.

Trouble in Big Food: America’s cereal, soda and soup companies are in turmoil

Great article from CNN on the competition in consumer food industry today.

 

Coke vs. Pepsi: The cola wars are back

America’s cereal, soda and soup companies are having a rough 2018.

General Mills (GIS), Campbell Soup (CPB), Hershey (HSY) and Pepsi (PEP) are all failing to convince investors they have a plan to navigate shoppers’ changing tastes.

The consumer staples sector is at the back of the pack in the S&P 500, down 13% this year. It’s on track for its worst year in a decade.

On Friday, Campbell plunged 12%, its worst day since 1999, after CEO Denise Morrison abruptly retired. Campbell announced a review of its entire lineup, including soup, leaving the door open for breaking up the 149-year-old company.

It’s part of a broader problem. Large consumer goods brands lost market share to small competitors from 2011 to 2016 for the first time in 50 years, according to Jim Brennan, a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group.

“The threat is everywhere,” Brennan said at a recent AllianceBernstein conference.

2018 has been a perfect storm for Big Food. Sales growth is stalling while oil, freight, raw material, steel and aluminum costs rise.

In the past, inflation wouldn’t have been a major issue for these legacy brands. Their size, supply chain, and enormous TV advertising budgets allowed them to muscle out competitors and maintain higher prices.

“You didn’t have tons of competition, and the superior economics just continued,” Brennan said. “It was a pretty nice gig.”

But they don’t have that luxury anymore. Their business models and pricing power are crumbling as the retail and grocery industries consolidate, consumer allegiances fade, and low-budget digital advertising campaigns sway shoppers.

Walmart (WMT), Amazon (AMZN), Target (TGT), and Kroger (KR) are waging a price war that has spread to the rest of the retail and grocery industry. The pricing battle has changed shoppers’ expectations of how much a box of cereal or a bar of soap costs.

If suppliers don’t play ball on prices, Walmart can put products in the back of the store where shoppers can’t find them.Amazon can send them to the bottom of its search pages.

Older players caught flat-footed

The growth of retailers’ cheaper private labels and discount stores like Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Germany’s Aldi have limited big players’ ability to raise prices.

Mass-produced brands are not the only game in town anymore. Scale is less important in the digital age when an entrepreneur with a new idea can reach a huge audience online through a viral ad on YouTube or Facebook (FB).

“Amazon provides a valuable platform for small brands to gain traction,” said Bill Duffy, an associate director at consulting firm Gartner L2. “Brands no longer have to coordinate with local grocers and large chains to get visibility in store.”

Household care producers have also been caughtflat-footed. Clorox (CLX), Procter & Gamble (PG), Kimberly- Clark (KMB) and Colgate-Palmolive (CL) are each down around 20% this year as investors question their strategies.

Nimble players have undercut big brands’ prices and tailored their marketing to fresher, organic trends. Analysts point to KIND and RXBar snacks, LaCroix sparkling water, Halo Top ice cream, Dollar Shave Club razors and Seventh Generation laundry detergent as examples of startups that capitalized on shoppers’ preference for natural ingredients in food and household care products.

Buying out the competition

These companies have attempted to reshape their lineups and scoop up newer rivals to boost sales.

But corporate shopping sprees alone are not enough. Acquisitions can raise corporate debt and hit profits.

“Do you go out and buy growth at the expense of earnings?” questioned Raymond James analyst Joseph Altobello.

As if these challenges weren’t enough, the industry faces another headache: higher interest rates.

Consumer staples stocks are considered safety plays that offer large dividends. However, they are less appealing to investors in an environment where bonds offer similar returns with little of the same risks.

“A lot of these stocks are viewed as bond proxies,” Altobello said. “That’s great when rates are falling, but the same math works just as well in reverse.”

CNNMoney (New York) First published May 21, 2018: 2:12 PM ET

Source

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/21/news/companies/campbell-soup-general-mills-hershey-pepsi/index.html

Traditional English Breakfast – a balanced meal?

bacon.blog-post-imageThe English breakfast includes a number of tasty elements that traditionally are cooked by frying, a process delivering maximum taste, but balanced with possible health consequences linked to over indulgence.

For people who are under weight or suffer low cholesterol, the traditional English fry-up including bacon, eggs, toast and a possible assortment of beans, tomato, chips, mushroom and other delicacies, there is little risk, but should diners be overweight or at jeopardy of elevated cholesterol, moderation is advised.

A national newspaper even describes the English Breakfast as the healthiest ever:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1263778/Why-British-fry-healthiest-breakfast-.html

 

Thankfully, no study has suggested a single, glorious breakfast can prove fatal, so there is no reason to hesitate should your diet otherwise be prudent. Enjoy the breakfast of champions!

Cereal for Serial? All time success with podcasts

Few people plugged in to the global Internet would be unaware of the popular sound recording, or ‘pod-cast’ called “serial” that investigated the possible unsound conviction of a convicted murderer called Adnan Masud Syed.

The podcast has been confusing for many people who have sought the podcast with the search term “cereal”.

Here at the Breakfast Foods Council we support the calls for justice in Sarah Koenig’s work, and offer the link below for people searching for serial who end up here:

Serial (not cereal)