Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
Dunkin’
Donuts, now known as simply Dunkin’, is a
multinational quick service restaurant. Founded in 1950 by Bill Rosenberg
(after opening as Open Kettle in 1948), the chain’s original claim to fame was
its donuts and coffee; the two most popular items when he used to sell food to
factories and construction sites. The chain continued to expand to include more
items on its menu, particularly of the breakfast variety, and almost 13,000 restaurants.
Beginning in 1981, Dunkin’ Donuts ran an ad campaign with an advertising mascot
called Fred the Baker,
portrayed by actor Michael Vale,
whose catchphrase was “Time to make the donuts”. The campaign was incredibly
popular, with the phrase’s debut commercial being named one of the five best
commercials of the 1980s by the Television Bureau
of Advertising. When the character was retired in 1997, by fan demand the
company created an
entire celebration around him including a parade in Boston and a “free
donut” day. In 2019, the company
began removing “Donuts” from its name to symbolize its new status as a “beverage-led”
company, focusing on coffee, tea, and speedy to-go service.
In 1988,
the company attempted to expand into the breakfast market with Dunkin’ Donuts
cereal. Produced by Ralston,
the cereal featured three shapes representing their donuts: standard ring
shapes, round balls for their Munchkins (donut holes), and figure eights. They
came in two flavor varieties: glazed and chocolate. Of course, this wasn’t the
first donut-inspired cereal on the market, as Ralston had released on in 1980
called Dinky Donuts and General Mills’
Powdered Donutz. Dunkin’s cereal was as short-lived as those two; lasting only
a year despite the commercials and the box featuring Fred. Premiums included a send-away
offer for a Dunkin’ Donuts-branded duffle
bag, a flashlight,
a card
trick system branded by magician Harry Blackstone Jr.,
Nintendo trading cards with a
chance to win a NES, and
a back-to-school
kit featuring a pencil case with pencils, erasers, a ruler and a sharpener.
The cereal was also part of Ralson’s line-wide promotion offering
a real Porsche.
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