{"id":428,"date":"2012-02-10T14:27:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-10T19:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/?p=428"},"modified":"2012-03-02T02:02:26","modified_gmt":"2012-03-02T07:02:26","slug":"cereal-and-candy-best-of-breakfast-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/?p=428","title":{"rendered":"Cereal and Candy: Best of Breakfast Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though I am a candy wrapper and candy box collector, I’m also a cereal box collector.\u00a0 Each hobby has it’s own wonderful quirks and qualities, and sometimes the two of those hobbies crossover.<\/p>\n

Marketers long-ago figured out that a kid who enjoys sugary cereal in the morning, will certainly enjoy a sugary treat later in the day, so why not entice them before they get out of their pajamas?<\/p>\n

Finding a cereal box with a candy or gum offer has always been a double-bonus for me – and it’s why I’ve sometimes went after a cereal box, because the offer was candy-related.\u00a0 Oh, the fun I have with old cardboard and paper.<\/p>\n

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Coupons<\/h1>\n

Cereal boxes have always been a place for consumers to find coupons on other products, and that certainly has been the case with many of the candy connection.<\/p>\n

The oldest candy-related cereal box in my collection is for a brand that lacks much in the way of sugar at all – it’s for Shredded Wheat.\u00a0 Now, after a breakfast of Shredded Wheat, who could blame anyone for wanting to follow that up with a box of Almond Joy miniatures.\u00a0 Check out those Peter-Paul Dreams – they don’t make those anymore!<\/p>\n

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Nabisco Shredded Wheat - Peter Paul Mounds and Almond Joy 10-cent off coupon - 1950's<\/p><\/div>\n

Over half-a-century later, you can still find coupons for candy on cereal boxes.<\/p>\n

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Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies cereal box with M&M's coupon - 2011<\/p><\/div>\n

Twenty-five years ago, Cocoa Krispies not only gave you a coupon, but a free package of actual M&M’s.\u00a0 I wonder how many kids made the right move, and just opened up the pack and poured it right on the cereal?<\/p>\n

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Cocoa Krispies with free M&M's cereal box - 1986<\/p><\/div>\n

Free Inside<\/h1>\n

Free inside?\u00a0 Sounds good to me!\u00a0 Yes, this was the package deal kids dream of; their favorite cereal, and an offering of some sugary treat.\u00a0 Could life get any sweeter?<\/p>\n

One box that has eluded me as a collector is this “free inside” Cocoa Puffs box, that featured a free box of Just Born’s Mike and Ike candies.\u00a0 My hunt for this one continues.<\/p>\n

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Cocoa Puffs with free Mike and Ike candy - advertisement from 1987<\/p><\/div>\n

Here’s a few more candy “Free Inside” boxes that I have managed to track down.<\/p>\n

Anyone remember Lifesavers Super Holes?\u00a0 For a brief time, they were inserted into boxes of Trix cereal.<\/p>\n

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Trix - Free Life Savers Super Holes - cereal box - 1995<\/p><\/div>\n

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Count Chocula - Free Willy Wonka Wacky Wafers cereal box - 1985<\/p><\/div>\n

Though Shock Tarts would become part of the Wonka candy family in a few short years, they were not yet Wonka-stuff when they were included in Golden Grahams in 1996.<\/p>\n

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Golden Grahams with Shock Tarts - 1996<\/p><\/div>\n

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Curcus Fun - with free Starburst inside (and a coupon) - 1988<\/p><\/div>\n

Bubble gum found it’s way into many a cereal box – here are a few great cereal bubble gum tie-ins:<\/p>\n

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Cap'n Crunch with free Bubble Yum gum cereal box - 1982<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s always fun to see cereal mascots enjoying classic bubble gum brands – it’s like Spider-Man and Batman hanging out together for brunch.\u00a0 Here’s another I think you’ll enjoy.<\/p>\n

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Count Chocula - Free Super Bubble bubble gum - cereal box - 1983<\/p><\/div>\n

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Ghostbusters with free Bazooka bubble gum - 1986<\/p><\/div>\n

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Fruity Marshmallow Krispies - Milkshake Bubble gum - 1988<\/p><\/div>\n

I’ve had the Fruity Marshmallow Krispies box for a few years, and wondered if I might ever come across the gum.\u00a0 Late last year, I did:<\/p>\n

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Lotte - Milkshake bubble gum packs - late 1980's<\/p><\/div>\n

So when it comes to confection and breakfast cereals, every genre got a fair shake.\u00a0 Here’s a classic from the 80’s.<\/p>\n

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Freakies with free Reese's Pieces candy - cereal box - 1987<\/p><\/div>\n

Candy as Cereals<\/h1>\n

Of course, sometimes a simple tie-in or offer is not enough.\u00a0 Sometimes, a candy brand is so beloved that a cereal company decides their best move is to license out the whole thing.<\/p>\n

What is certainly the most popular and long-lasting of these is Reese’s Puffs.<\/p>\n

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Reese's Puffs with Reese's Nutrageous candy bar offer - 1995<\/p><\/div>\n

In the case of Nerds cereal, Ralston went so far as to duplicate the two-flavor box design that the candy offered.\u00a0 So you’d get two flavors of Nerds cereal out of one box.<\/p>\n

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Nerds cereal box - 1986<\/p><\/div>\n

The UK has gotten into the game too, as I recently found during a trip there.<\/p>\n

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Nestle Lion cereal from the UK - 2011<\/p><\/div>\n

And since most of my USA readers wouldn’t be familiar with the brand, here’s a modern Lion bar wrapper.<\/p>\n

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UK - Nestle - Lion - candy bar wrapper - 2007<\/p><\/div>\n

As you can see, candy to cereal crossovers are not that uncommon, and can be a perfect way to tie two products together.\u00a0 But sometimes it goes the other way, and the cereal makes its way into candy.<\/p>\n

Candy made out of cereal?<\/h1>\n

One of the first examples of this I encountered were Cap’n Crunch bars:\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Cap’n Crunch bars – 1997<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Now, someone might fairly say, “But wait, Cap’n Crunch bars aren’t really a candy – they’re a snack!”, and technically they’d be correct.\u00a0 But they’re not here to stop me, so I’m leaving it in.<\/p>\n

Rice Krispies Treats is another cereal-candy-snack worth mentioning, and they really are the most profound of the cereals-into-candy.\u00a0 So I have to include them. They almost transcend into their own category.<\/p>\n

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Rice Krispies Treats boxes - 1999<\/p><\/div>\n

But not content to simply turn a cereal into snack – these then made their way back into cereal form.<\/p>\n

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Rice Krispies Treats Cereal - 1993<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the more unusual cereal-to-candy crossover items I’ve encountered has to be this one, from a line of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger branded snack and candy items, sold in Brazil in the late 70’s.\u00a0 When I saw it, I knew I had to add it to my collection.<\/p>\n

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Kellogg's Tony-Snacks Crokinhos - chocolate and rice candy bar wrapper from Brazil - 1978<\/p><\/div>\n

So that’s a lot of crossover material.\u00a0 In the history of candy though, few relationships were probably ever as close as that of the very first candy bars branded with the Wonka name.\u00a0 You see, back in 1971, when the Wonka brand of candy bars first appeared, they were produced by Quaker – the folks who also made Cap’n Crunch.\u00a0 Launching the candy line out of their promotional efforts that also tied into the feature film, few candy-and-cereal relationships could ever be considered so intertwined as this one.\u00a0 Eventually I’m going to return to this topic to do an in-depth history on the Wonka candy brand.<\/p>\n

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Quaker's Willy Wonka newspaper ad - 1971<\/p><\/div>\n

Here’s an early example of a Wonka candy bar that was produced by Quaker, the tongue-twister-titled Scrumdidilyumptious .<\/p>\n

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Quaker - Wonka Scrumdidilyumptious wrapper - earlry 1970's<\/p><\/div>\n

And that’s the whole of what I’ve got today on the wonderful friendship between cereal and candy.\u00a0 Well, I’ve got one more.\u00a0 Here are a trio of Wacky Packages like candy boxes – each a parody of a major cereal brand.\u00a0 From the Swell gum company, likely sold during the early 80’s.<\/p>\n

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Before I sign off today, and while I’m on the cereal topic, I’d like to plug my pal Topher’s new book on cereal – “The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch”, by Martin Gitlin and Topher Ellis. If you have a love of cereal – be sure to check it out.
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