Count Chocula, Frankenberry & Boo Berry "Cereal Flexis" (General Mills, 1979)
I was a 70's sugar cereal kid, and while my taste buds have progressed somewhat, I continue to unabashedly enjoy the Monster Cereals. Every October when they get stocked in previously un-Monster Cereal friendly outlets I end up picking up a complete set or two, and trust me when I say that those boxes contain nothing but marshmallow dust within a day at most. The whole classic monster angle is a killer hook of course, but I also love super-crazy sweetness, the over the top celebrity impersonations given to the characters, and all the cool product tie-ins over the years (that glow in the dark Fruit Brute light switch sticker I put up at age 7 seemed to stay affixed in my bedroom forever).
All of which brings us to these flexis. Freed from the constraints of their 30 second TV spots (often a high point of 1970's Saturday morning commercial viewing), they coulda been pretty great really. Hey even the titles, while obviously not playing up the whole "scary" angle, seem somewhat promising, right? Right? Well while I still think that in spots these (nearly 5 minute!) stories feel horribly endless, I guess for cheapjack flexi cereal giveaways they're not ALL bad. Still (and this is breaking my heart to type), imagine if instead of going "Disco" they'd managed to go "Punk" instead? So many oportunities! So much potential greatness squandered! Ah well, there's still that catchy "Monster Mania" tune to be thankful for, years down the road I STILL find myself (apropos of nothing at all) singing it in my head.
While I'm knee-deep in all things Monster Cereal, here's the ad introducing Count Chocula & Frankenberry -- still the most popular flavors! Pity the poor Fruity Yummy Mummy, cursed to spend eternity in his pyramid of solitude & fruity loneliness.
posted by Jason at 8/19/2006 02:13:00 PM
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