![]() ![]() Owing to their status as a tie-in product, these cereals had one fatal flaw: They typically sold well for just 14 to 18 months, whereas Tony the Tiger could keep moving flakes for decades. ![]() Never mind that many of the concoctions were almost identical-the Spider-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cereal had pieces resembling Ralston’s Chex cereal relabeled “spider webs” or “ninja nets.” Fans of the properties ate it up. Others, like Batman, came with super-sized prizes like a coin bank that was shrink-wrapped to the box. The company’s Nintendo Cereal System in 1989 had one box with two different bags of multi-colored cereal. Cereals based on Donkey Kong, Spider-Man, Gremlins, Rainbow Brite, Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Batman made what would otherwise be generic cereals palatable to a youth demographic and had novelty beyond the brand associations. The next few years would see a number of Ralston products hit stores. Released in 1985-at the point in Cabbage Patch mania where adults were getting into physical altercations over the dolls-it sold well, and Ralston seemed to have found its niche. Their first attempt was a sugary riff on Cabbage Patch Kids. Because launching a brand-new cereal was such an expensive proposition-marketing costs could grow to $40 million during the first year alone-it made more sense for Ralston to capitalize on existing properties, where their expenditure might only be $10 to $12 million. Ralston Purina, a conglomerate that counted both breakfast cereal and dog food among its offerings, was faced with only minimal market share when compared to the “Big Two” titans: General Mills and Kellogg’s. ![]() But that was hardly the end of tie-in corn puffs. When neither product managed to reach Shortcake-level success, General Mills stopped pursuing licenses in 1985. Arriving in 1984, the company believed a sequel-which never materialized-would keep it flying off shelves. To the great satisfaction of General Mills executives, it was a major success. In September 1982, General Mills debuted a Strawberry Shortcake cereal, the first to be based on a licensed fictional character. Kenner, in turn, had a licensing deal with American Greetings, owners of the popular Strawberry Shortcake property. General Mills, then and now one of the leading cereal manufacturers, owned toy company Kenner. Why spend time and effort creating a new cereal mascot when they could effectively lease one with a built-in fan base? Their solution was existing brand recognition. It wasn’t until the 1980s that cereal makers took notice of census reports hinting at a growing population of kids under the age of 9 and began plotting ways to appeal to tiny, outstretched hands at grocery stores. But it was also hard to muscle in on the market with so many of those mascots dominating shelf space. Store aisles were soon stocked with boxes bearing Toucan Sam (Fruit Loops) Snap, Crackle, and Pop (Rice Krispies) and the dubiously ranked Cap’n Crunch.Īs the decades wore on, the characters became intergenerational, able to appeal to kids and adults who remembered them from their youth. Tony the Tiger was introduced by Kellogg’s in 1951 and quickly became the solo mascot for Frosted Flakes after cohorts Katy the Kangaroo, Newt the Gnu, and Elmo the Elephant fell by the wayside. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the major cereal companies figured out that people wanted to literally consume their entertainment.Ĭereals have long relied on colorful characters as a way of marketing their wares. The delay was the result of changing tastes in the realm of product licensing. It wasn’t until 1984-seven years after the original Star Wars hit theaters-that fans could purchase C-3POs, a puffed-wheat breakfast concoction that featured the golden droid on boxes. The lone exception to that escapist morning routine? Breakfast cereal. Fans could wake up on Darth Vader bedsheets, brush their teeth with a Yoda toothbrush, and slip on a Chewbacca backpack before catching the school bus. Thousands of items, ranging from clothing to toys, were produced from dozens of licensees. The tidal wave of merchandising following the release of Star Wars in 1977 was a fundamental transformation in how pop culture could be monetized. ![]()
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