WHEATIES
The “Breakfast of Champions” eminent brand did not begin on purpose, but as a total accident when a Minnesota health clinician spilled wheat bran mixture onto a hot stove, creating the crispy flake we all know today. In 1924, Wheaties, called “Washburn’s Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes” at the time, officially launched after numerous attempts to correctly package the fragile flakes. It wasn’t until the following year, when the cereal was renamed Wheaties, that the Washburn Crosby Company, later General Mills, ran a company-wide contest, which was won by employee Jane Bausman. On Christmas Eve 1926, Wheaties took its first big step since launching, making radio history by airing the world’s first-ever prerecorded commercial jingle in Minneapolis on radio station WCCO.
THE ORIGIN OF WHEATIES
WHEATIES THROUGH THE YEARS
Wheaties is most famously known for their prominent athletes posted on the front of the cereal boxes; however, long before the athletes came, someone else. “Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy”, who starred in a Wheaties-sponsored radio series, was the very first character to ever star on the front of a Wheaties box. It wasn’t until 1934 that the first athlete graced the packaging, and it was none other than the New York Yankees legend, Lou Gehrig. General Mills continued to advertise all kinds of famous athletes, such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, being the most featured, and creating the signature cereal box known all around the globe.