Dead Man's Party

Guess who's back?  Yep, it's that time of year again.  The grocery store shelves are turning a specific shade of orange and black and the rubber mask smell wafts throughout the stores a little bit more than you'd like it to.  But the most important indicator of the approach of the Halloween season happens in the cereal aisle:

I've had mixed feelings about the seasonal availability about the General Mills Monster Cereals.  Of course, in the old days they were on sale year round and when they changed to a six week seasonal offering, the initial feelings of shock and betrayal couldn't be denied.

But I think I've come around on the whole situation.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.  One of the best things about the shorter release is the new box designs we get (almost) every year.  This year in particular has quite the Halloween party on the back:

If you're into advertising mascots like me, this is definitely the party you want to be invited to.  A lot of our cereal pals are in attendance and the costume theme seems to be exclusively "monsters from Monster Cereals."  Here's how it breaks down:

• Dressed as Count Chocula: Boo Berry, the Trix Rabbit and the Cinnamon Toast Crunch "Crazy Squares" (I still haven't warmed up to those guys)
• Dressed as Boo Berry: Lucky the Leprechaun, Frankenberry and Buzz Bee from Honey Nut Cherrios
• Dressed as Frankenberry: Count Chocula, Sonny from Cocoa Puffs and the Pillsbury Doughboy?!?  Wait, he's not from a cereal!

He definitely gets the MVP award for this get-together.  You didn't see any other non-cereal mascots show up to support the monsters but this guy is a total team player.  I want to see more of this in the coming years.  Let's get some crossovers going!

Relativity

Today is National Grandparents Day and it's the perfect excuse to take a look at a long lost advertising mascot.  Everyone knows that Sonny the Cuckoo Bird goes "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" but many people have forgotten that he used to be part of a duo.  Originally all the commercials featured him and "Gramps":

Like most great comedy teams, these guys had their signature bits.  The main one was about utilizing Sonny's "cuckoo explosions" to get out of sticky situations.  These days, going cuckoo usually has negative effects on our chocolate craving hero but back in the day it was a great way to escape a bear attack:

Or it was an effective way to avoid a horrible death at sea:

So the guy was clearly nice to have around.  The two made a great team but after awhile the Gramps character was faced out and Sonny became a solo act.  He went on to be the kind of cereal character that is mercilessly taunted by kids at breakfast time.

But a few years ago Gramps made a comeback!  He costarred with his favorite (and possibly only) grandchild in a couple of modern day commercials:

The reunited pair had more of an antagonistic relationship in the new spots with Gramps trying to keep the chocolatey goodness to himself.  But, of course, Sonny gotta get his grub and when he does, Gramps takes it all in stride.   They are, after all, family.  Happy Grandparents Day everybody!

Lime and Punishment

There's a common trope in cereal commercials where a beloved character is desperate to get their hands on the sweet, sweet goodness of their favorite breakfast treat.  And, of course, it almost always ends with the character being denied and some sense of "justice" being served.

The classic example, of course, is the Trix Rabbit.  One elaborate plan after another fails as he dons disguise after disguise in his quest for his fruity prize.  Case in point, an old commercial (from the 70's, maybe?) where he pretends to be a house painter to gain access to the unsupervised children at the breakfast table.  And as expected, his ruse quickly fails:

But something else stuck out to me with this one.  Normally, the kids would have a good laugh at the expense of what is clearly a suffering addict, but this time instead of mild amusement we're met with seething, white hot rage:

These kids just aren't having it.  Now I doubt they'll even be able to enjoy the fruity flavors of their favorite cereal.  They really need to learn to live and let live like all the other kids in all the other commercials.  But they're not going to be content with laughing it off.  They clearly want retribution.