4 ms·

I still remember as a kid walking down the cereal aisle and looking for which cereals had the best toys. That was the entire basis for how I chose cereal at tha

by gcheong 17y ago

I still remember as a kid walking down the cereal aisle and looking for which cereals had the best toys. That was the entire basis for how I chose cereal at that age.

qeorge 17y ago
Kids cereal marketing is fascinating, from the toys to the way the mascot's eyes tend to look down [1]. I didn't get to make a lot of decisions as a kid, but cereal was one of them. I was also exposed to another strange aspect of cereal marketing: the sugar content. My father instituted a rule that we could have any cereal with <= 10 grams of sugar per serving, and so my sister and I became acutely aware of said levels. Captain Crunch was out of the question, but Cinnamon Toast Crunch would dip above and below the line, with a period of several months. Nearly all cereals I watched displayed this behavior. [1] http://i30.tinypic.com/2598znp.jpg http://i30.tinypic.com/2598znp.jpg
- fnid 17y ago
  The "Tooth Lady" who came to my school and taught us how to brush and showed us those gross movies of squirming plaque bacteria told us that any sugar at all in cereal is pretty bad. I was worried because I added sugar to my cereals that didn't have it. Mom never bought cereals with sugar added. I said, "I like to add sugar to my rice crispies" and she said, "You couldn't add enough sugar to your rice crispies to equal the amount in the frosted kind." And now, it's hard to buy even adult cereals without sugar in them. They are all so sweet. It can't be good.
  - jjs 17y ago
    > I said, "I like to add sugar to my rice crispies" and she said, "You couldn't add enough sugar to your rice crispies to equal the amount in the frosted kind." Ah, I love a good challenge!
kevinh 17y ago
In a way, that's sort of a wiser decision to make. The cereal, once you eat it, is gone forever, but the toy will last until you lose it/get bored of it/your dog eats it. Since your parent was buying it, it was like getting a toy for free.

by gcheong 17y ago

I still remember as a kid walking down the cereal aisle and looking for which cereals had the best toys. That was the entire basis for how I chose cereal at that age.

qeorge 17y ago

Kids cereal marketing is fascinating, from the toys to the way the mascot's eyes tend to look down [1]. I didn't get to make a lot of decisions as a kid, but cereal was one of them. I was also exposed to another strange aspect of cereal marketing: the sugar content. My father instituted a rule that we could have any cereal with <= 10 grams of sugar per serving, and so my sister and I became acutely aware of said levels. Captain Crunch was out of the question, but Cinnamon Toast Crunch would dip above and below the line, with a period of several months. Nearly all cereals I watched displayed this behavior. [1] http://i30.tinypic.com/2598znp.jpg http://i30.tinypic.com/2598znp.jpg

fnid 17y ago
The "Tooth Lady" who came to my school and taught us how to brush and showed us those gross movies of squirming plaque bacteria told us that any sugar at all in cereal is pretty bad. I was worried because I added sugar to my cereals that didn't have it. Mom never bought cereals with sugar added. I said, "I like to add sugar to my rice crispies" and she said, "You couldn't add enough sugar to your rice crispies to equal the amount in the frosted kind." And now, it's hard to buy even adult cereals without sugar in them. They are all so sweet. It can't be good.
- jjs 17y ago
  > I said, "I like to add sugar to my rice crispies" and she said, "You couldn't add enough sugar to your rice crispies to equal the amount in the frosted kind." Ah, I love a good challenge!

kevinh 17y ago

In a way, that's sort of a wiser decision to make. The cereal, once you eat it, is gone forever, but the toy will last until you lose it/get bored of it/your dog eats it. Since your parent was buying it, it was like getting a toy for free.