Food
Kellogg’s Krumbles. Battle Creek, MI: Kellogg’s, 1912.
This new product offers the consumer a money-back guarantee and assurances, on the verso, of healthy whole wheat. The cereal sold for 10 cents a box. I love the gender-neutral “family-manager” reference to the shopper in the house.
Kellogg’s Funny Jungleland Moving Pictures. Battle Creek, MI: Kellogg’s, 1932.
Kellogg’s loved using slice books and printed over 25 million copies of Jungleland in different iterations. Begun in 1909 as giveaways at point of purchase, they were premiums acquired for 10 cents. See the postcard here that offers the book when purchasing two packages of Corn Flakes, “While they last!”
Rice Krispies, Listen! Get hungry. Battle Creek, MI: Kellogg’s, 1933.
Another color slice book but drawn by Vernon Grant (1902–1990), the notable American illustrator. In this case, peeling aside the slats reveals another image but does not create new ones. The gnomes, Snap, Crackle and Pop, are introduced along with text promoting the cereal. In the 1950s, the dolls were available to sew for 15 cents and a box top. I ordered and sewed Pop.
Les Grand Joueurs [Great Players] No. 2. Rosny-sous-Bois, France: Kellogg Company, 1994.
This volvelle giveaway for the USA World Cup in 1994, number 2 in a series of 3, is a movable card that asks a question about the team’s players on one side and answers it through the die-cut hole on the reverse, where it also touts Kellogg’s Loops cereal as the official cereal of the 1994 World Cup. Frosties was the Frosted Flakes version of the cereal intended to appeal to adults.
Kellogg’s and DC Comics. Batman & Robin. 1997.
In this miniature Spanish pop-up book, Batman is saved from Poison Ivy by Batgirl and Robin. A specific Kellogg’s product is not mentioned but teaming up with popular DC Comics characters gets its company name to the consumer. Presumably this book would have been offered as a premium or included in a Kellogg cereal box.
L'extrait de viande Liebig est un pur jus de viande de boeuf [Liebig meat extract is pure beef juice]. Paris/Uruguay/Argentina: Liebig Company, [ca. 1900].
In the late 19th century, society began to address infant and child mortality, previously accepted as a natural event. Better nutrition was sought to improve children’s lives. Baron von Liebig created from South American beef a rich paste and sold it as Liebig’s Soluble Food for Babies, a product equal to or better than a wet-nurse’s milk. Mother’s milk was never disputed as the best. The beef paste won prizes at Expos, which were beginning to be very popular around the world. This complex movable, a dissolving disc, changes the image from the cattle to the can with the pull of a string.
Cheetah Hunting in the 12th Century [Chasse au Guépard au XIIème siècle]. Asnières sur Seine, France: Phosphatine Falières, [ca. 1905].
Phosphatine powder, an infant food additive, fortified cereal or milk with extra calcium. Infant and child mortality was very high at the turn of the century and food additives, including chocolate, targeted children. This is one of a large series of DIY cards to be cut out and assembled by the consumer to produce a movable advertisement. Other cards in this series represent several French provinces and colonies and professions with historical information on the verso. Sample boxes were offered. Artwork by Louis Chambrelent.
Zanzi. Paris: Biscuiterie de Montreul, [ca. 1920].
The boys are playing Zanzi, a complicated game to score using three dice. The densely illustrated card uses every space for advertising biscuits and wafers. It may have been intended for shopkeepers since the verso says, “Ask your supplier.” Significantly, the printer is H. Bouquet of Paris. Like Leopold Verger, Bouquet printed many of the advertisements in the collection.
Thé Lipton: Directement de la plantation à la théière [Directly from the plantation to the teapot]. [ca. 1930].
The beauty of the volvelle is that it can impart so much information at the turn of the wheel. This one, from Lipton Tea, does it best by simultaneously showing the tea being picked, packaged, and poured. Ingenious!
A Terry [and the Pirates] Bang Bang Gun. IL: Quaker Oats, 1938.
The top premium creators at the time, Sam and Gordon Gold, proposed this ad for a Quaker Oats premium to introduce a new cereal, Sparkies. The cardboard Bang-Bang Gun was a fun toy assured to be popular with the kids, the target audience. The 1930s found a proliferation of ad tie-ins with cartoon and radio characters, here Terry and the Pirates. [See Pharmaceuticals - Ziron for another Bang-Bang gun.]
About Face! Battle Creek, MI: C. W. Post Cereals, [ca. 1940s].
This pop-up board book is quite unusual since it is not aimed at consumers but at the product’s sales force, namely grocers. Part of the marketing plan is outlined on each page with a parade of young girls dressed in the new cereal packaging. Each cereal will have “its own advertising and promotion.” The grocers are instructed on how to display the boxes on the shelves—old ones in front of the new—until the customers are familiar with the new names and boxes. “There’s a lot of sales push coming … Dreaming, scheming, plotting, planning for the biggest cereal drive in history.”
The Guide to United States Warships. New York, NY: Continental Baking Company, [ca. 1940s].
Volvelles have been used since the 13th century, created as a calendar by Matthew Paris, a Benedictine monk. It is considered the earliest forerunner of computers as it merges information from more than one source. This volvelle, used for the catalog cover, shows images of United Nations member country flags and United States warships, helpful during World War II, while at the same time providing information as to how they are named on one side and showing international flag codes on the reverse. Wonder Bread was sold unsliced during WWII due to the lack of steel for the blades. The ban lasted less than two months due to the hue and cry of bakers and housewives.
I grew up on Wonder Bread and have never forgotten my class trip to its nearby bakery at 143rd Street and Southern Boulevard, Bronx. I can still recall the glorious fragrance of the factory and thrill of the individually wrapped mini-loaves we could take home.
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town: Special edition Pop-up Book, Volume 1. Atlanta, GA: The Coca-Cola Company, 1996.
The pop-up book’s text is the lyrics from the famous 1934 song, Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town, written by James (Haven) Gillespie (1888–1975, music by J. Fred Coots [1897–1985]). Product placement is prominent on every spread. Message: Santa loves Coke. You should, too. Quite an elaborate advertisement. I’ve never seen a Volume 2.
Star Wars: Episode 1, The Phantom Menace, Fulfil your destiny …, no. 2 of 7. Harrison, NY: PepsiCo, Inc., 1999.
The use of popular characters, whether from movies, cartoons, or books, requires special licensing. With the popularity of the Star Wars franchise, these cards would be prized, and Pepsi products remembered, a goal of advertising. This is one of seven in the series. Pull the tab and Anakin Skywalker stands up, revealing Queen Amidala. A prize could be won with the right card.
African Adventure Book. Atlanta, GA: Arby’s, Inc., 2000.
Like McDonald’s Happy Meals, Arby’s gave premium gifts for restaurant visitors. This is one of 5 pop-up books, each representing an adventure in a different environment: Undersea, Arctic, Desert, Insects, and Africa. Completing the set would be an enticement to beg parents for meals at Arby’s.
Eat spicee chikin. Breethe fire [sic]. College Park, GA: Chick-fil-A restaurants, 2013.
Pull the side tab and the cow’s fiery breath explodes from its mouth, representing the spicy chicken available. Probably made to stand on the restaurant’s table, the reverse shows this fast-food chain’s chicken sandwich with a glass of Coca-Cola and their signature round waffle fries. This is a point-of-purchase ad reminding the patron of what’s available in the store. While the easel-backed card was purchased at auction, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was originally ‘acquired’ from a tabletop.
Animés par les Fromageries Bel Créatrices de la célèbre “[La] Vache qui Rit” - Album no. 1 [The Laughing Cow]. Lons-le-saunier, France: Vache qui Rit, [ca. 1930s].
In 1924, Léon Bel, son of a French cheese manufacturer, changed his company’s logo to a laughing cow, drawn by illustrator Benjamin Rabier (1864–1939). Bel’s marketing savvy encouraged children to acquire printed blotters, book covers, and albums to fill with individual movable cards from Rabier’s menagerie. One set of twelve has pull tabs; another has wheels to portray the comical movement. The Laughing Cow has a large passionate following with many collectibles.
In a bit of nostalgia, I remember arriving in Paris on my honeymoon unable to speak French. As it was lunchtime when most shops were closed, I shyly went into a food store and asked for La Vache qui Rit, the only French food I could pronounce. My husband and I sat on a bench hungrily opening each wedge of foil-wrapped cheese.
Tom Mix says Eat Ralston, The Straight Shooters Cereal [sic]. St. Louis, MO: Ralston Purina, [ca. 1935].
The cowboy Tom Mix appears on an eight-foot paper reel of black-and-white pictures and text and is vertically displayed as if on TV. This presentation is also known as a myriopticon. The images are stills from Mix’s movie, Rustler’s Roundup. At the end of the double reel, Mix gives reasons to eat Ralston cereal, saying, “Ask your Mother to get you a box of Ralston” and Ralston “brings the glow of the western outdoors to your cheeks.” The TV could be had free with a coupon and cereal box top. Many other advertising collectibles were offered in the Tom Mix newspaper cartoons and given away free. Tom Mix also had a career in radio where there was additional advertising. The sales power of media heroes was harnessed beginning in the 1930s. [See Entertainment - Little Orphan Annie.]
For Holiday Party Cakes-Pillsbury-Sno Sheen Cake Flour. Minneapolis, MN: The Pillsbury Flour Company, [ca. 1954].
This is another example of instructing merchants how to sell a product. In this enormous store display board, Cinderella is running from the prince and losing her slipper, stepping out of the frame, creating a three-dimensional diorama. An illustrated kraft-paper envelope directs the storekeeper to put the board on top of the flour display and how to pop out the diorama. There are three more rhymes in the set: Hansel and Gretel, Tommy Tucker, and Peter Pumpkin Eater.
Instant Maxwell House Coffee. History of Our Presidents. Los Angeles, CA: Graphics International, [ca. 1963].
This was the pop-up publication that launched the Second Golden Era of pop-up books. After advertising executive Waldo (Wally) Hunt saw pop-up books by Vojtěch Kubašta in the early 1960s and was thwarted from importing them from Czechoslovakia, Wally approached Bennett Cerf of Random House publishers. Together they produced a pop-up book premium to be given away with a 14 oz. jar of Instant Maxwell House Coffee. This endeavor was so successful that Cerf went on to publish a large series of Random House pop-up books for children. Wally sold his company, Graphics International, to Hallmark Cards, who also produced a series of pop-up books. Wally then started Intervisual Books, which became the largest packager of movable books in the United States.