Throwback Thursday: The toons that sold us cereal

This week’s Throwback Thursday comes directly from the breakfast nook, taking us back to a time when our morning meal was a little bit simpler and a whole lot sweeter. These iconic cereal spots, from the 1950s through the ’90s, feature cartoon characters interacting with kids, tempting them with flakes and grains of the frosted variety.

Cereal may be declining in popularity as a go-to breakfast option for millennials, but Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers will always have these spots. From the Trix Rabbit to Tony the Tiger and from the Smurfs to the Flintstones, it seems just about every cereal had an animated character shilling for it.

More in Marketing

Avocados From Mexico turns to AI to advertise around the Super Bowl instead of a TV buy

As Super Bowl ad prices climb, Avocados From Mexico is leaning further into an AI activation designed to drive engagement and utility in real time.

In Graphic Detail: Why platforms are turning social video into living room TV

2026 is shaping up to be the year that the rest of the platforms join YouTube in turning the screw on traditional TV.

Beverage brands update Dry January marketing based on changing consumer habits

Today, people generally seek balance when pursuing their personalized wellness goals in a new year.