Other brands were deploying the same techniques, with Kellogg introducing Corn Pops in 1950 and Frosted Flakes in 1952, and General Mills unveiling Trix in 1954. Early boxes of Corn Pops made sure consumers knew about these new developments, emphasizing “Pre-sweetened” and “No sugar needed.” Many of these new flavors also came with their own cartoon mascots, though they were more likely to grace kids’ TV screens than the boxes of cereal themselves. TV was where the kids could get hooked, with Tony the Tiger (debuted in 1952), the Trix rabbit (1959) and Sonny the Cuckoo bird (1962). They didn’t care what the box looked like yet, as long as what was in it was what the mascots were telling them to eat. The boxes were still aimed at parents, concerned more about the health of their child than the cartoons they wouldn’t shut up about. This box of Cocoa Puffs from the late 1950s still highlights that it’s a corn cereal, as does this 1964 box of Trix, even though the rabbit was there, too. And Lucky Charms’ original box advertises the “goodness in toasted oat cereal.” They didn’t even coat the oat bits in sugar until 1967.
