Sandy Supposes....

Cereal Creatures

The Wildcard Round! Today's winner, selected by the Virtual Dice this weekend from all the eligible entries, gets a Number 1 Fan MB!

Prompt: Who/what is the best cereal mascot, and why are they better than the runner-up?                               

Ah, a trip down memory lane. Thinking of cereal mascots resurrects buried snippets of television commercials and their catchy jingles. I recall Frosted Flakes and its spokesanimal Tony the Tiger growling, "They're Gr-r-reat!" Sorta confusing though 'cause Esso fuel also had a tiger as a mascot with the slogan, "Put a tiger in your tank." Hey, a local company that sold bedding, towelling, and fabrics used a tiger to make sales, too. Hmmm, too many striped mammals...

         My eldest daughter loved this particular breakfast cereal when she was a girl, Fruit Loops, but she insisted they were 'Fruity Hoops'. Toucan Sam certainly is a brightly coloured bird.

         Lucky Charms has the green-attired leprechaun spouting , "They're magically delicious!" While I admired his energy, I've never liked this cereal. I'm not a fan of anything marshmallowy. Come to think of it, he seemed a bit too lively, almost frenetic.

         Okay, there was the Captain of Cap'n Crunch fame, a jovial pirate. Huh, this cereal touted that it stayed crunchy even in milk. Actually, this so-called edible commodity was sharp enough to cut the roof of any tender, unsuspecting mouth. It tended to cling to the teeth requiring extra removal efforts. I find the French name humorous, Capitaine Crouche.

          Remember this? Trix are for kids! The white rabbit with the ginormous ears admonished persons not children. He seemed manic and frenzied.

         Corn Flakes have a rooster. Not particularly creative for a breakfast since we relate rise and shine to a crowing rooster anyway.

         I believe I like the three sprites/elves known as Snap, Crackle, and Pop representing Rice Krispies. They, of course, epitomize the noise of this cereal, but they have catchy names. In the television ads, they appeared mischievous, somewhat like children. They acted happy-go-lucky, too. Nowadays, my knees make more of these noises as they groan and moan.

         For the runner up mascot, I elect the bee of Honey Nut Cheerios fame. He seems very bright and positive. Wait, I'm also partial to Sugar Bear of Sugar Crisp cereal. He was definitely laid back, and cool, with a swagger. I liked his voice.

         Oh, there certainly was a great deal of subliminal messaging/marketing when I was a kid. Did I survive the brainwashing? The kids of today will never know the anticipation associated with finding the included surprise/toy/gadget in a box of cereal. Yes, it was an obvious marketing ploy intended to force mothers to purchase more cereal for their hungry kids, but we kids loved it! It was a bribe, treat, extra that enhanced the breakfast food. I especially enjoyed the cartoon cards that were created and folded in such a way that I could super-impose different heads on different bodies, thus creating any number/combination of strange creatures.