We’re always fascinated by the way advertising and product design has evolved over the years, so we were excited to see this roundup of cereal box evolution over at Retronaut. Like so many other design aesthetics, cereal boxes have gotten smoother, more “3-d” and more, well, ecstatic across the board — characters who used to smile contentedly now invariably have their mouths wide open in wild excitement at the sugary flakes they are about to consume. The colors have become garishly bright (though in some cases, we admit, more appealing), and everything is just so much shinier. To us, the character development is the most interesting — we love seeing the 1950′s Tony the Tiger, who has morphed from a friendly-looking, almost shy cat into a striped pseud0-bodybuilder. Click through to see a few of our favorites, and then be sure to head over to Retronaut for even more.
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According to the Telegraph UK, Roald Dahl publisher Puffin has struck a deal with UK supermarket chain Asda to place excerpts from Dahl classics on the backs of ten million boxes of cereal sold in their stores. Over the next few weeks, Asda will replace the games and advertisements on the backs of all of their own store-brand cereals with 200-odd word excerpts and illustrations from Dahl classics The Witches; The Twits, The BFG; Danny, the Champion of the World and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Francesca Dow, the managing editor of Penguin’s children’s books, including the Puffin imprint, explains, ”The great thing about a cereal box, is that it potentially is reaching millions of households that just don’t read any literature outside of school…There could be an enormous number of children discovering Roald Dahl for the first time, bleary eyed over the breakfast table.” Sounds like heaven to us. What do you think? Would you (or your kids) like the BFG with your morning Cheerios?
The Cereal Project takes a beloved breakfast staple and archives it into a pop-culture encyclopedia of graphic design, advertising, and historical significance.
The website is full of random cereal trivia; for example, Quaker has released 27 versions of Cap’n Crunch that riff on the 1963 original. (Ship Shake Cap’n Crunch Liquid diet drink, anyone?) Extensive video content includes Julia Stiles acting her heart out in a 1994 Apple Jacks commercial and Michael Jordan’s classic shill for Wheaties.
Peruse the commercial library, explore cereal families, play breakfast cereal games, and search an exhaustive list of cereal companies.
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