But fifty years ago in May 1969, Friday in the Brady household meant one thing: Mom was going grocery shopping after dinner. And she was sure to bring home plenty (three or four boxes) of the sugary cereal my siblings and I craved. She would buy whatever we asked for – Cap’n Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes... How many mothers do that in 2019?
We would pretty much go through a box on Friday night at snack time, and then enjoy some more in the morning right before we settled down for the inevitable Saturday morning cartoons.
This large ad (which ran in the Journal on May 14, 1969) combines cereal and cartoons very nicely. It shows the gargantuan Kellogg’s Jumbo Assortment: 18 mini boxes of cereal including the dreaded adult ones (Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes) and the kiddie ones we liked.
Here’s a color photo of the Jumbo Assortment in the ad, courtesy of Hake’s.com.
(I remember just tolerating cartoons like The Three Musketeers, waiting for the show to get back to the Banana Splits and their hijinks.)
Who doesn’t remember the Tra La La song, the theme song of the Banana Splits?
This YouTube sample includes the theme song again, plus some of the comedy bits, such as Fleegle getting the mail, Drooper taking out the trash, etc. That strange, caterpillar-like arm in the mail box always creeped me out!
The Banana Splits were also featured on many Kellogg’s cereal boxes, promoting various send-away offers, such as this printing set. (Hey – maybe this cereal box ad indirectly led me to go into the printing business as a career!)
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Cereal has long been a favorite topic on this blog. I also did a post on the Rice Krispies song, whose songwriter – N. B. Winkless, Jr. – also wrote the Tra La La song).
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Hey, how about a look back at the introductory commercial to Kellogg's Puffa Puffa Rice? I remember this commercial well, especially with that grass-skirted Hawaiian cutie in there. I wonder if Kellogg’s was aiming this cereal at men, as a sort of Polynesian fantasy breakfast?
5 comments:
My Ma often bought the ten cereal Variety Pack; my personal fave was Frosted Flakes.
For us, the various Kellogg's multi-box packages (Snack Pak, Variety, etc.) were something to eat on a camping trip. We often ate right out of the "Kel Bowl Pac" (slitting the box open with a penknife and pouring the milk right into the wax liner, which often resulted in a soggy mess).
I was always drawn to "Frosted Flakes" too. And nothing was more neat than being able to eat it right from the box, like a little bowl.
Had forgotten "Puffa Puffa Rice"!
I had forgotten about Puffa Puffa Rice too. I remember it as being very mildly sweetened. (And with my severe sweet tooth, that’s why Puffa Puffa Rice didn’t become a favorite.) But the commercial for it was great! (Ay-uh Ay-uh!)
I remember that Puffa Puffa Rice cereal commercial, especially the hula dancer in it. I recall another ad for the same cereal in which there were two hula dancers, an adult (I don't know if it was the same one from the earlier ad or not) and a little girl. Ahhh, man, did I ever develop A MAJOR CRUSH ON THAT LITTLE GIRL! 💕 SHE WAS SO PRETTY AND I LOVED THAT BEAUTIFUL SMILE OF HERS!
Even though I saw her on TV over fifty years ago, I still can't get that girl out of my mind. I'm having romantic fantasies about her as I'm typing this comment.
Unfortunately, I've been trying to find that particular commercial on the internet, but all in vain! I've looked on YouTube, on Google, on various websites, etc. ZILCH! NOTHING! NADA! NEGATIVE! (OR "NEGATORY," AS THEY USED TO SAY ON THOSE CITIZENS BAND RADIOS) I even tried writing to the dancer from the original ad asking her for help (her show biz name is Anita Aloha, and she has a website, and I think a Facebook account), but I never received a reply.
I wish someone out there in internet land could tell me where, if possible, I could find the commercial, or at least, find some information about the girl, so I could maybe write a letter to her about how much I admired her all these years. If so, then they'll need some personal info about myself (I don't usually post this on the internet, but I'm desperate, and I have no choice.
Michael Palmieri
9431 Southwest 1st Place
Boca Raton, FL.
33428
Cellphone number: (561) 503-5940
Gmail address: mpalmierigrancia@gmail.com
If someone (ANYONE) can do this favor for me, I will really appreciate it, and I'll be forever grateful to him/her. If I could just see that lovely little hula girl again, even for a minute, I'll be satisfied. 😍🤩🥰❤️💖💗💓👩❤️👨💟
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