Classic Commercial Sunday - #78 Chip Fest!

It's No Smurfberries

The other day I was pretty smurfed off when I went to not one but two grocery stores and didn't find a single bit of smurf merchandising for the new movie. I mean Smurfs are blue - that's like the big thing about them. How easy is it to just put out a blue version of whatever product you make and slap a Smurf sticker on the package and stick it out there!? Well, apparently there IS a Smurf cereal out there...I just haven't found it yet. Now I have to spend the whole weekend going to the other grocery stores in the area looking for it. Great!

The strange (yet cool) thing about this cereal is that's it' almost like Post Cereal is saying, "Hey! We realize the filmmakers smurfed up the design of the Smurfs."


"So flip the box over and here's the way the Smurfs are supposed to look!"



Well played, Post. Although If I were a cereal executive (and I so should be) I would have just put Smurfberry Crunch back out on the market. It too would be available in two versions: the kind that doesn't make your poop turn purple and the retro box which does do the trick.

Pebbles and More Pebbles

On the back of the boxes of the latest batch of Post Pebbles Cereals is an ad for Pebbles Treats. Just like Rice Krispie Treats, Pebbles are set to soon be prepackaged and ready for on-the-go snacking and lunch boxes everywhere. What makes them better than Rice Krispie Treats is that the packaging will feature the likeness of a one Mr. Frederick J. Flintstone. I haven't seen them on my grocer's shelf yet, but in the meantime I'll enjoy this ad from the back of the cereal box. The image of Barney licking the giant stone wheel is a little off-putting but, hey - we take what we can get, right!? Also, check out below these two cool ads for the new treats featuring Wilma...

Earlier last year, Post also introduced Cupcake Pebbles which filled a void the breakfast world had been calling out for - Cupcake flavored cereal! This stuff tastes like dumping one of those little sugar packets down your throat! But, again, the packaging is really cool - this time giving Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm the spotlight.

The back of the package features the whole gang and little place cards you can set out at your party along with a cut out game "Pin the Tail on Dino!" I can't imagine anyone hosting an actual party and using cutouts from a cereal box, but hey who am I to judge? Here's also a print ad for the Cupcake flavored cereal featuring suggestions for other things to do with the breakfast product besides actually eating it for breakfast.

You shouldn't have any trouble finding Cupcake Pebbles in the stores now and we'll keep you posted on the Treats.

Return of the Clash

When I was younger, one movie that I used to watch over and over again was Clash of the Titans. Hey look! There's a new version coming to theatres this weekend:



To help celebrate the new movie and their new line of Yoplait Greek Yogurt, the generous folks at Yoplait want to give you a Nourish Your Inner Goddess gift pack, as seen below:

All you have to do to get your hands on these goodies is tell us about a movie that you have fond memories of watching over and over again when you were little. To enter, just leave a comment on this blog or send us an e-mail by 11:59pm Friday, April 10, 2010. One winner will be selected at random, please make sure we have some way to contact you.

This promotion is courtesy of Yoplait who has provided the free product, information, and gift pack through MyBlogSpark™.

Classic Commercial SundayPeanut Butter & Jelly

Foodles...for Me and Yoodles

Everytime I go to a grocery store, besides the two I frequent, I always find all kinds of goofy and/or cool blogworthy items. Last week while shopping at a gigantic new store in town I spotted these kiddie food trays from afar. I noticed that the shape of the tray resembled Mickey, and then when I got closer I saw some familiar faces staring back at me!

There's several different varieties of Disney Gardens' Foodles, all of which contain a combination of three different healthy snacks in kid sized portions. You might think that $3.49 is a lot to pay for 1/3 of an apple, a handful of pretzels and six grapes...but did I mention that the package is shaped like Mickey!?!

Seriously, it's a pretty neat little treat for kids. And you have to give Disney some credit...they could slap their characters on sugary-sweet breakfast cereal or potato chips (and they have) but they are trying to make a move to associate Mickey and the gang with good food choices for kids. Now, if we can just get somebody to make Batman Broccoli, I might get my kids to eat some veggies!

Disney Gardens has a pretty nice website, featuring games and kid-friendly recipes.

Classic Commercial Sunday:What Ever Happened To This Dude?

The Sauce of Paul Sorvino

Let's get back into the swing of things with another odd supermarket shelf find. Actor Paul Sorvino often plays mobsters and crime lords. And let's face it, we all picture mobsters as Italian guys who like to eat alot of pasta. So it makes perfect sense for Paul Sorvino to run with that stereotype and start a line of his own pasta sauce. I don't know, Paul! It's gonna have to taste at least half as good as Paul Newman's Sockarooni sauce!

Paul Sorvino Foods make two kinds of sauce and four different kinds of sausage. Now all he needs is to make the pasta too. Maybe that's a business for daughter Mira to pick up.

See Paul pitch his sauce here.

Pancakes on Parade

As I've mentioned before, I love food that is flavored like other food. It's like a 2-for-1 deal! When I laid my eyes on Tastykake's new Pancake Krimpets they were in my shopping cart quicker than you can say "Mrs. Butterworth!" Everyone enjoys the classic Krimpets varieties of jelly filled or butterscotch, but the thought of sinking my teeth into a pancake flavored snack cake simply sent chills up my spine. The description on the box reads: "Butter Flavored Cream Filled Sponge Cakes with Maple Syrup Flavored Icing". Yes, they are that tasty! Plus they are alot easier then frying up some cakes on the griddle. They might also be responsible for the mild heart attack I've been having all day.

The Juice of Miley

First it was a breakfast cereal and then it was her muffins and now Miley Cyrus takes over another portion of your balanced breakfast with her very own juice! Hannah Montana Juice is 100% juice because Miley wouldn't just lend her name to any ol' product! It has to be only the finest 100% juice for Miley Cyrus to slap her face on the bottle. This beverage comes to us from the folks at Langers, the #9 name in bottled juice!

I don't post these pictures because of some crush on Hannah Montana, I just think it's hilarious how much stuff they'll plaster her face on. Every once in a while a property will come down the pike that gets merchandised to death...I don't think New Kids on the Block, Pokemon, or Britney Spears ever had their own line of juice. Miley Cyrus is a trailblazer, folks!

Classic Commercial Sunday - Be A Pepper!

When I was little, I had a pair of shorts that had the Dr. Pepper logo on them.

Miley's Muffins

First off, for those of you that are confused, let me set the record straight on my relationship with Hannah Montana. While I am a huge fan of the World of Disney, my allegiance to the company starts to wear out in the land of Disney Channel. I have only watched the Hannah Montana TV show one time! Yes, I copied the Miley Cyrus CD from someone (someone being a 9 year old girl) and I may have watched the better part of her concert film on Starz...but that's only because it was in HD and it looked really good on our TV! That being said, I do not consider myself a Hannah Montana fan of any sort. However, I find the merchandising of Ms. Montana to be endlessly hilarious. They have plastered her photo on more things in the last year than Batman's got in the last 60 years! They are obviously running out of things to cash in on which is why the bakery at my local supermarket had an entire Hannah Montana section set up this weekend. I suppose a HM cake isn't too crazy, and they have the prepackaged Twinkies-like HM cakes...but Hannah Montana Rockin' Berry Muffins??? Really folks, do we need that!? They are filled with little bits of mystery substance that are pink and purple. In fact, looking at this picture I can't believe I didn't pick up a box. I'm sure they are a great way to start off your day - Montana Style!

More Than Meets The Eye!? No...it's just waffles

This one is dedicated to "Brian in CA". The fine folks at Eggo, the leader in food dye illustrations are at it again with new Transformers Animated waffles. These breakfast goodies feature the likeness of the transforming robots in their new cartoon series. Sometimes you get a picture of one of the Transformers, other times you might just get the word "Bumblebee" printed on your waffle. Either way, it's good eats!? Right!







The Transformer Eggos have replaced the earlier "Kung Fu Panda" waffles which was an easier transformation for my kids then the Hot Wheels to Barbie Eggo change that happened earlier this year!

Here They Come... Here Comes Speed Racer Toys

The summer movie season is just around the corner and that means the summer movie merchandising is here. Product tie-ins and other movie goodies can get me excited about a movie that I have no intention of seeing! However, I am looking forward to the new Speed Racer movie and we all know how much of a fan I am of free prizes in cereal boxes. So, free Speed Racer prizes inside specially marked boxes of General Mills cereal? Sign me up! I haven't watched an episode of Speed Racer since I was probably 8 years old, but I do have fuzzy warm memories of the cartoon. When I was in the first and second grade Speed Racer was on WDCA Channel 20 every afternoon at 3 & 3:30. We got off the bus somewhere between 3 and 3:30. So everyday I would race home from the bus stop, grab the afterschool snack and then head on down to my friend Ryan Tripp's house to watch the second Speed Racer before a solid hour of Scooby-Doo at 4 & 4:30. That was television my friends! (And...Yes, my friend Ryan's mom was later involved in a certain White House scandal that made her famous!)

So, anywho...this new Speed Racer movie looks pretty cool. It's bright and colorful and looks like it will be alot of fun plus it stays true to the original series which is always a plus in my book. I had already seen Speed Racer fruit snacks at the grocery store and today I saw the toys starting to pop up on the shelves at Wal-Mart. The free cars inside the cereal happened to be inside two brands of cereal that we eat in our house, so we picked up a couple of boxes. Unfortunately we didn't score the Mach 5 (Speed Racer's white car) but we did get these two other cars: #33 and #12 Hydra Cell. That means absolutely nothing to me either, but after the movie I'm sure we'll know who they are. The cars have the ol' pull back and go action which allows them to speed off on their own after driving them backwards on the floor a few inches. For cheap little cereal premiums they work pretty good. They are fast and provided an evenings worth of entertainment for my kids (and I).

Speed Racer hits theatres May 9. You can look for additional tie-promotions with Target, Lego, Puma and yes...the coveted McDonald's Happy Meal.

back of the cereal boxes

Who Doesn't Dream of Turkey Roll?

"We need a way to get little girls more interested in eating turkey roll!"

"How about if we put a picture of a fake Barbie on the package and call it Princess Dreams Turkey Roll!?"

"That's good Matthews! You have a gift, my friend! Don't hide that in a bushel basket."

Everything Tastes Better When It's Shaped Like A Mouse's Head

I screamed with delight when I saw these new Mickey Mouse Pizzas in my grocers freezer. I was even more excited when I saw that the pizzas didn't just have Mickey Mouse on the box, the actual pizza is shaped like the Big Cheese himself! How cool is that!? It tastes pretty much like any other cheap frozen pizza, it's just ten times more fun! My kids loved `em! The ears are the perfect size for little ones hands! They come in three varieties: Cheese, Peperoni, and a Pepperoni & Sausage combination.

Good Eats!

Milking Mickey

Ya know I can't resist any grocery store product bareing the image of my good pal Mickey and his buddies! Flavored milk in tiny little portions? Throw it in the cart! Keeping with their promise to only feature Mickey and Donald on foods that are good for kids, Disney brings us Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Milk in chocolate and strawberry flavors. I consider myself a flavored milk connaisseur and I gotta say these are a little sweet for my taste. The milk is pretty creamy for 2%, but the flavoring is targeted at a kids taste palate. (Go Figure!) Opening up the fridge and being greeted by Mickey and Donald does put a smile on my face, but I think I'll stick with my NesQuick Banana flavored milk. Which brings to the table this philosophical question: Who would win in a fight Mickey Mouse or the Nestle Quick Bunny?

Viva Las Reese Cup!

Yesterday when I was looking for a little something-something to satisfy my sweet tooth I came across this glorious new product sitting on the candy shelves - Reese's Limited Edition Elvis Peanut Butter & Banana Creme cups. First of all, I love products trying to cash in on a dead celebrity. Second, I love Hershey/Reese's Limited Edition products (Pina Colada Almond Joy we miss you!) And I love Banana flavored anything, so what a perfect combination! Anywho, these are certainly tasty little creations worth a try. They kind of do taste like a Peanut Butter and Banana sandwich, of which Elvis was known to down a couple in his day! The candy adds the taste of banana to the popular Reese's Cup flavor. You can definitely taste the banana but it's not too powerful, it mixes well with the Peanut Butter. The new product comes in four different Elvis wrappers if you happen to collect such things. Unfortunately one of the wrappers does not feature 1970's fat Elvis who would have eaten a couple dozen of these Reese's Cups in one sitting!

Japanese Thomas Candy Wrappers

Today we feature these funky little candy wrappers from Thomas the Tank Engine candy made in Japan. I picked up the pack of candy back in March while I was at Walt Disney World. In the Japan pavilion at Epcot there is a large store run by Mitsukoshi, a four-century-old retail company. The stores sells all kinds of stuff like kimonos, housewares, and books but my favorite section is (of course) the food! They have all kinds of wild candy and snack items. My very favorite item (and it's become a tradition to pick some up) is Shrimp Chips! Yummy! Shrimp Chips are like a cross between Andy Capp's Pub Fries and Crinkle Cut french fries, except they taste like shrimp! Good Eats! I also like to pick up some Rice Candy which is also so very good. When we were in Epcot earlier this Spring, I also grabbed some Thomas candy, and something called Hi-Chew which was kind of like Starbrust but way better! I tell you what, if I ever went to Japan I wouldn't sleep in one of those hotels where you lay in a tube, but I would get my candy on...Godzilla style!

Snoopy's Choice

This picture shows a number of grocery store items that Snoopy and the Peanuts gang have appeared on all over the world. There's peanut butter from Australia, Cola from England and even corn snacks from Japan. But right smack dab in the middle of all this international goodwill is a little product fondly remembered as Snoopy's Choice Frozen Dinners! Few things go together as well as a tiny TV Dinner and a free Peanuts sticker! These tasty meals hit grocery store freezers around the time I was 17, however that didn't stop me from stocking the freezer with them every chance I got. Jeez, I'm such a sucker for products with cartoon characters on them! I was a huge fan of TV Dinners when I was younger, but these Snoopy meals which were probably aimed at grade school children had less than 1/3 the food a Swanson HungryMan dinner had. But really, in the end, isn't a free Snoopy sticker all you need to fill your tummy...and your heart!?!?

It's rare that my memory banks can stump the Internet, but I wasn't able to find a single image of these Snoopy's Choice meals anywhere online. There is barely a mention that the food ever existed! I was able to find this picture in a book called Peanuts The Home Collection: A Collector's Guide to Identification and Value. I tried to zoom in on the Snoopy's Choice products, but I'm no William Randolph Hearst when it comes to the ol' scanner and Photoshop and all the stuff! My zoom in here on the left offers nothing more than a larger, grainier look at Snoopy pointing to some unrecognizable food. For a really good tie-in, the microwavable food should have come in little red dog dishes! That would have made it all even cooler!