Vintage Video Of The Week : The Debut Of The Monster Cereals!

With Boo Berry and his friends Franken Berry and Count Chocula popping up on store shelves again, where they will sadly only remain for the next month and a half, it seems oh so right that for tonight's Vintage Video Of The Week, we head allll the way back to the beginning, to the birth of the beloved General Mills Monster Cereals!

The year was 1971, naturally around Halloween time.  Deciding to market a cereal centered around the holiday, General Mills whipped up special chocolate and strawberry cereals and attached to them loveable monsters as mascots; Count Chocula and Franken Berry.  They hired Peanuts animator Bill Melendez to bring the characters to life for their debut commercial, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So before we talk a bit more about the history of the Monster Cereals, let's head back to 1971 and check out the original commercial, featuring the original two cereal monsters!

**Be sure to follow the below links to also see the first commercials for each of the three subsequent Monster Cereals!**

It was a couple years later, in 1973, that Boo Berry was introduced to the world.  The next addition to the line was a fruit flavored cereal with lime marshmallows and a werewolf mascot called Fruit Brute, which was later replaced by Yummy Mummy, also a fruit flavored cereal but this time repackaged with a mummy mascot and vanilla flavored marshmallows.  Yummy Mummy was soon thereafter also discontinued, for exact reasons I've never really known.  I suppose ole Imhotep just didn't catch on with kids like his pals Franken Berry, Boo and the Count did.

**FUN FACT : The early runs of Franken Berry included a pink dye that turned children's poop pink, a phenomenon dubbed 'Franken Berry stool'.  Nowadays, the only thing the cereal turns pink is the milk!**

Though the Monster Cereals used to be produced all year round, but only carried by most stores around Halloween time, their production has all around been limited to the September and October months.  So head out to your local grocery store and keep your eyes peeled, because they should be out there real soon, if they're not already.  If you can't find them anywhere near you, have no fear.  All three can be purchased through Amazon, either together or in separate packs of four boxes each!

I leave you tonight with a picture from Halloween 2010, of Jen and myself.  One of my finer moments in life, no question about that!!