Do you remember, I think it was 1976, during the US presidential elections when they wanted the kids to vote whether the rabbit could have Trix cereal or not?
I couldn’t find the 70s version but this from 1984.
I didn’t eat Trix, so I did not vote, but that was one of the cereal commercials that I remember. Here are a couple more commercials from the 70s.
Occasionally we will cross over into late 60′s and early 80′s as being a 70′s child will span more than that 10 year period. Such is the case with this classic 1980′s commercial with the child named Maynard.
Good Stuff Maynard
Maynard’s dad comes into the kitchen and ask Maynard where his bowl of Malt-O-Meal went. Maynard responds by telling his father that Big Bear took it. Maynard’s father then tells Maynard that is to bad because of all the goodness he will be missing saying “Good stuff Maynard”. Maynard decides he wants to try a bowl but his father ask him to show the bear first. After questioning his father “Are you sure you want to see it?” Maynard opens the backdoor and a huge bear is there with a bowl of Malt-O-Meal which asks for more.
“Good stuff Maynard” became a popular phrase where I grew up.
Who could forget Mikey. The kid who liked Life cereal. This memorable commercial ran from 1974 until 1986. Contrary to urban myth Mikey did not die from a Pop Rock and Coca-Cola cocktail, he is alive and still does appearances now and then.
I also like Life cereal. Well, just the plain version. (Not a fan of most flavored cereals.) The only thing I don’t like about that cereal is occasionally you bite down on one of those hard as rock squares and if feels like you just brook your tooth in half.
The only thing better than a walk down the cereal isle was getting to browse thru your local toy store. Not only where you presented with cereal of every shape and flavor conceivable by man, but each box contained a wondrous toy that held endless possibilities. I can imagine the frustration of our mother as we looked at every single brand of cereal to see which one had the best toy.
I will never forget the time my eyes lit up when I spied a toy car in Fraken Berry cereal. It was a beauty. You could just tell it was built for speed. A must have for any connoisseur of cereal toys.
I quickly grabbed a box and placed into the shopping cart. Now all I had to do was wait a few agonizing days until my current cereal was consumed.
That day did finally arrive. I sat at the table ogling the toy car in it’s plastic bag as I poured myself a bowl of Franken Berry cereal. The quicker I ate my breakfast the quicker the fun could begin. I scooped up a spoon full of strawberry goodness and shoveled it into my mouth. At that moment my chewing slowed down to a halt as my brain sent a message to my taste buds. “You do not like strawberry cereal, this stuff is awful.”
Now my parents weren’t dirt poor but money was tight and it was not wasted. That meant I had to eat every bit of that cereal. I do not remember if it took a week or two weeks to finish it off, but I learned that a toy is not worth the price of taste.
I think my favorite cereal box toy was a catapult and castle that came out of King Vitamin. You would set the castle up then use the catapult to knock it down. I would love to hear what other peoples favorite was.
Sadly, they only offer activities on the back side of boxes now. Law suits and profit margins have driven that magic from breakfast.
The two cereals I ate most were Quisp and King Vitamin. I still buy King Vitamin from time to time but Quisp was taken off the market until recently. I just found out that Quaker Oats are offering Quisp thru the Internet. I will soon be ordering a box of nostalgic memories.
Quisp Cereal
King Vitamin Cereal
