SUPERMAN CRUNCH CEREAL

SUPERMAN CRUNCH CEREAL

Quaker Oats

            2006 marked Superman’s triumphant return to the big screen. Or, at least it was supposed to be.

            Since the original movie series starring Christopher Reeve, Superman had been noticeably absent from film adaptations in the following years. In the late 90s, an attempt known as Superman Lives starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Tim Burton was in production, but the commercial failure of Batman & Robin caused Warner Bros. to cancel the project and instead channel the funds into the Will Smith vehicle Wild Wild West.

            In 2004, Warner Bros. was moving forward with Superman: Flyby directed by McG and written by J.J. Abrams. When McG dropped out of the project, they approached director Bryan Singer to pitch an idea he had conceived of during the production of X2: X-Men United with Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. Warner Bros. liked the pitch, and Singer signed on to direct Superman Returns with Brandon Routh in the lead role.

            As part of the movie’s promotion, Warner Bros. entered into a partnership with Quaker Oats to produce a cereal tie-in for the movie. Rather than create an all-new cereal, Quaker went to its stalwart Cap’n Crunch brand and created a special Superman edition called Superman Crunch. It tasted like Peanut Butter Crunch but featured Superman shield-shaped pieces that turned the milk they were in blue, despite being red themselves. The commercial played up this fact, with the Cap'n and two kids having to save the color blue from an unseen Lex Luthor.

The back of the box.

The box featured images of the principal cast amongst a small board game on the back panel, as well as information for an instant win game. The front of the box showed Routh’s Superman punching a falling meteor to create the shield shapes for the cereal. On the side panel, Quaker advertised its other Superman tie-in products including Life Cereal, Chewy Granola Bars and Pasta Roni.

The side panel with other participating promotions.

The cereal had a short run while the movie found critical and commercial success. However, plans for a 2009 sequel were abandoned due to Warner Bros.’ unhappiness with the overseas box office take of the film. The Superman franchise would be rebooted in 2013 with Man of Steel. 

QUISP, QUAKE AND ORANGE QUANGAROOS CEREAL

This one goes out to loyal reader J.P. who had a memory flashback upon seeing a box on the shelves recently.

QUISP, QUAKE AND ORANGE QUANGAROOS

Quaker Oats Company

            Quaker Oats had entered into a deal with Jay Ward Productions to conceive of characters they could make new cereals around. In 1965, Jay Ward and Bill Scott provided Quaker with two new characters: Quisp and Quake.

            Quisp (Daws Butler) was an alien with a propeller on his head, who served as the mascot for the same-named cereal that featured “flying saucer shapes” made of sweetened corn. Quake (William Conrad) was a big, burly miner wearing a super hero cape whose same-named cereal were cog-shaped “wheelies” made of sweetened rice. The commercials also sometimes featured Quake’s mother, Mother Lode (June Foray), and Quisp’s sidekick Quunchy (Bill Scott). The advertising campaign featured the two mascots at odds with each other, promoting their cereals and challenging kids to pick their favorite one based on taste and premiums. Paul Frees, another Ward regular actor, usually served as the commercials’ narrator.

            Both cereals were similar in texture and appearance, but Quisp outperformed Quake. Originally attributed to Quake’s imposing appearance and the lack of appeal of things from the ground (as the cereal was said to come from), Ward and Scott attempted to revitalize his image. In 1969, Quake was made slimmer, given an Australian brush hat, and a cowboy-like accent. The change was worked into the commercials and shown on screen. However, Quake’s makeover failed to improve the cereal’s performance.

            In 1972, Quaker made the competition real by asking consumers to vote via mail-in ballot for their favorite of the two, with the loser being discontinued. Quisp won by a landslide, and Quake left store shelves. The following year, Quaker tried a new cereal called Quake’s Orange Quangaroos, and later simply Orange Quangaroos. The cereal stemmed from the orange Kangaroo created by Ward and Scott named Simon (Scott) and came in orange-flavored round pieces. Quake was recycled to be Simon’s sidekick, and the competition with Quisp resumed anew. 

            Unfortunately, the new cereal failed to outperform Quisp as many consumers complained of a metallic aftertaste that the cereal left them. In 1976, Quaker once again held a competition to determine the fate of the two cereals, and Quisp emerged victorious. The victory, however, proved hollow as Quisp itself was soon discontinued due to increasingly dwindling sales. The cereal experienced two limited revivals in the mid-80s and 90s, but again disappeared. 

The all-new Quisp cereal.

In 2001, Quisp became the “first internet cereal,” sold almost exclusively through a website maintained by Quaker. Those boxes came with cartoons whose endings would be finished via Flash animation on the site, produced by John Kricfalusi and Spümcø. Quisp was voiced by Corey Burton, and Matt Danner voiced his new sidekick Quunchy. The cereal also featured limited distribution, appearing in stores in temporary displays until the stock ran out. In 2012, Quisp returned as a regular item in supermarkets, although Quaker still offers it for sale online.

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