P
Princeton
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This cereal came out the year I was born. So, there's a lot I don't know about it. How long was it out for? How did it taste? Why didn't it last very long?
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Beauregard
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I think there's a lot that a lot of people don't know about it. I've seen a cereal packet for it on this site somewhere, but I don't know any further than that. I think it was a line that was never intended to last very long, much like the Monster's Inc cereal that was released a while back.
Beau
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DTWolf
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I've got a box (an empty one!) of the cereal too--somewhere. The boxes featured the Swedish Chef on the front, naturally, in a photo with a bowl of the cereal; around the other sides of the box, in addition to nutritional info and the like, were drawings of the Swedish Chef and little games you could play--mazes, word searches, that kind of thing; as I recall, the games were intentionally dumb, more parodies of games than serious games. I think there were bad jokes too.
There were two or three TV commercials for the cereal, running of course during after-school and Saturday-morning cartoons. The commercials had the actual Chef Muppet doing stuff with the cereal--with Jim Henson for the voice, I'm sure. I remember one ad in which the Chef tries to use a bicycle pump to make a really big star-shaped piece of cereal; the giant star then explodes and rains down on the Chef in the form of regular-sized cereal stars.
I remember being rather disappointed with the taste of the cereal. I wanted it to be a lot sweeter and sugary, but unfortunately (in my childish opinion of the time) it was supposed to be nutritious. It tasted OK, but it was nothing special. But I wanted Mom to keep buying it because it had the Chef on the box and it had neat commercials.
There were two or three TV commercials for the cereal, running of course during after-school and Saturday-morning cartoons. The commercials had the actual Chef Muppet doing stuff with the cereal--with Jim Henson for the voice, I'm sure. I remember one ad in which the Chef tries to use a bicycle pump to make a really big star-shaped piece of cereal; the giant star then explodes and rains down on the Chef in the form of regular-sized cereal stars.
I remember being rather disappointed with the taste of the cereal. I wanted it to be a lot sweeter and sugary, but unfortunately (in my childish opinion of the time) it was supposed to be nutritious. It tasted OK, but it was nothing special. But I wanted Mom to keep buying it because it had the Chef on the box and it had neat commercials.
Amazing Mumford
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Article About Croonchy Stars
The following is from a USA Today article by Stuart Elliott. I'm not sure on the exact date, but the ad below the article mentions the sixth anniversary of USA Today (1988?). The article is accompanied by a picture of the box (sorry there's no scan).
Muppet magic chasing cereal sales
NEW YORK - Jim Henson's latest creation isn't a Muppet -- it's a cereal for kids. But some wish he wouldn't have allowed Sesame Street and Madison Avenue to intersect on this one.
The Muppets mastermind came up with the cereal idea as the Muppets' first licensed USA food product. He wanted to call it Stoopid Flakes. Post Cereals liked the idea, but will call it Croonchy Stars.
The pitch: The cereal was cooked up by the bumbling Swedish Chef in the "Muppet Test Kitchens." The Chef stars in TV spots -- directed by Henson -- from Grey Advertising. They debut Sept. 5.
Post, owned by Phillip Morris Cos., is hoping Muppet magic will spur cereal sales: It's third in cereal market share, behind Kellogg Co. and General Mills.
But, says Peggy Charren of the watchdog group Action for Children's Television, "It's sort of sad that even something the quality of the Muppets has to push a product. Jim Henson is one of our favorite people."
The cereal is pre-sweetened, though Post says it has less sugar than other such cereals. On the box, amid jokes, puns and games, Croonchies are called "wholesome" and "nutritious."
Those responsible for Croonchy Stars say it's being handled carefully.
"If there was the slightest hint of anything unhealthy, we'd have said no," says Michael Frith of Jim Henson Productions. The goal: "Make breakfast a delight rather than a drag."
To sell a kids' cereal, "You don't (use) the lecture approach," says Post's David Hurwitt. "You market it in a way they'll find fun."
The following is from a USA Today article by Stuart Elliott. I'm not sure on the exact date, but the ad below the article mentions the sixth anniversary of USA Today (1988?). The article is accompanied by a picture of the box (sorry there's no scan).
Muppet magic chasing cereal sales
NEW YORK - Jim Henson's latest creation isn't a Muppet -- it's a cereal for kids. But some wish he wouldn't have allowed Sesame Street and Madison Avenue to intersect on this one.
The Muppets mastermind came up with the cereal idea as the Muppets' first licensed USA food product. He wanted to call it Stoopid Flakes. Post Cereals liked the idea, but will call it Croonchy Stars.
The pitch: The cereal was cooked up by the bumbling Swedish Chef in the "Muppet Test Kitchens." The Chef stars in TV spots -- directed by Henson -- from Grey Advertising. They debut Sept. 5.
Post, owned by Phillip Morris Cos., is hoping Muppet magic will spur cereal sales: It's third in cereal market share, behind Kellogg Co. and General Mills.
But, says Peggy Charren of the watchdog group Action for Children's Television, "It's sort of sad that even something the quality of the Muppets has to push a product. Jim Henson is one of our favorite people."
The cereal is pre-sweetened, though Post says it has less sugar than other such cereals. On the box, amid jokes, puns and games, Croonchies are called "wholesome" and "nutritious."
Those responsible for Croonchy Stars say it's being handled carefully.
"If there was the slightest hint of anything unhealthy, we'd have said no," says Michael Frith of Jim Henson Productions. The goal: "Make breakfast a delight rather than a drag."
To sell a kids' cereal, "You don't (use) the lecture approach," says Post's David Hurwitt. "You market it in a way they'll find fun."
ReneeLouvier
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I really wish I'd been able to try out that cereal. It sounds super nice!
Princeton
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Fragglemuppet
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Thanks, that was nice to see. I think I saw it once before on Scott (Scarecroe's) old site. Someone said there were a few other commercials. I wonder if any others are available?