Company: Ralston
Years: 1988-89
But Ralston thought they'd roll the dice and hope that kids would also like to read comic strips while they ate breakfast. And kids do like to stare at the back of a cereal box, this much is true. So what went wrong?
The Cereal: Morning Funnies cereal was colorful, fruity, and shaped like smiling faces. I guess those smiling faces hadn't been reading the Family Circus portion of the box, as it's a known fact that reading Family Circus actually makes your head explode. (and by known fact I mean a complete and total assumption).
The Box: The box was a vary unique part of the Morning Funnies experience, as the back part of the box had a flap on it that actually opened up to reveal even more comic strips, much like you were opening a newspaper. The comics included on the boxes (there were 9 "Collectors Edition" boxes produced in total, which by calling them "Collectors Edition" boxes is basically calling them "Limited Edition" boxes, which is basically saying, this shit isn't going to last long) were the following: Dennis the Menace, Beetle Baily, Hagar the Horrible, Hi and Lois, The Family Circus, Tiger, Luann, Marvin, Funky Winkerbean, and What a Guy.
The Verdict: Not good. Consumer panels noted that the cereal was overly sweet, and the pieces were too large to eat. It also made the list of top 10 cereals to avoid based on high sugar content. Plus, kids didn't care about Beetle Baily, Hi and Lois, or most of the other Comics on the box. I know I didn't. Heck, I still don't. Give me Calvin and Hobbes. Give me Farside. But don't give me Family Circus. Dont EVER give me the family circus. Ever.
The Box was cool but that was about it. It lasted on the shelves for 2 years before being discontinued.
Now it's on our shelves here at GBNF Groceries as a reminder that things associated with The Family Circus will be defeated. Let this be a warning.
These Boxes are pretty easy to come by if you enjoy collecting old packaging - You can get them for not much more then the cereal was 20+years ago. I think I picked up an empty box for about 6 bucks on ebay.
ReplyDeleteThe Family Circus--what's with all the hate aimed towards it? Sure, it may be a corny comic strip, but it's practically high art compared to even worse comics like "Hazel" and depressingly soap-opera maudlin "dramics" like "For Better or For Worse" or "Rex Morgan ,MD".
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my most missed cereals from when I was a kid. I thought it was pretty tasty and I really liked the comics.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my most missed cereals from when I was a kid. I thought it was pretty tasty and I really liked the comics.
ReplyDelete