Sugar Puffs

Sugar Puffs packaging, with the Honey Monster, the advertising face of the cereal

Sugar Puffs are a honey-flavoured breakfast cereal made from sugar-coated wheat sold in the United Kingdom. For many years it was made by the Quaker Oats Company but in 2006 it was sold to Big Bear t/a Honey Monster Foods, based in Leicester. The products under the Honey Monster title continue to be manufactured at the site in Southall, London.

Sugar Puffs were first launched in 1957 with Jeremy the Bear. They were invented by William Halliday Davies (1919–2009), production manager at the Quaker Oats mill in Southall, London. The Honey Monster campaign in the 1970s was very successful. Honey Monster went on to lead many campaigns including appearances with Boyzone and ex-Liverpool FC & Newcastle United footballer Kevin Keegan, with actor Roman Stefanski playing the Honey Monster, before changing to Gary Martin, in which played many roles, such as Zordrak in The Dreamstone.

Product

Sugar Puffs are made from wheat, which is puffed using heat. The wheat puffs are then glazed with glucose-fructose syrup and sugar. Despite the emphasis on honey in advertising and branding, the product is only 3% honey.

Varieties

There have been a number of variations on the basic product, including:

• Banana Puffs
• Choco Puffs
• Honey Waffles
• Spooky Puffs
• Honeycomb Puffs
• Strawberry Puffs
• Snowy Puffs

Advertising

Sugar Puffs posters can clearly be seen in the 1966 film Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD. They helped to finance the film, and in return held a giveaway contest in which the grand prize was a Dalek prop made for the film.

The Honey Monster was first seen on TV in 1976 in an advertisement created by John Webster of the advertising agency BMP. The ad focused around a nutritional message which was illustrated by a "mother" (played by Henry McGee) and "child" (the Honey Monster) relationship. The mother was responsible for what the child was eating. The child wanted honey and would cry "Tell them about the honey, mummy!".

In the late 1980s, "Sugar Puffs" advertisements featured the slogan "You-ll Go Monster-Mad For The Honey". These advertisements portrayed children trying to get access to a packet of Sugar Puffs with someone or something then preventing them from getting the Sugar Puffs. The children would then cry "I Want My Honey!!" and they would then turn into the Sugar Puffs Honey Monster and thus get the Sugar Puffs.

There were a number of settings for these advertisements. The advertisements themselves were: (A) "Breakfast time": Where a boy tries to reach a packet of Sugar Puffs on a fairly high cupboard. (B) "School History Class":Where are class of children turned into the Honey Monster after seeing a Sugar Puffs delivery lorry pull up outside their classroom. (C) "Boyscouts": Where three boyscouts turned into the Honey Monster after their tent zipper failed to undo properly. (D) "Fairground": Where a girl tried to win a packet of Sugar Puffs at a hoop-throwing stall. (E) "School Tour". (F) "Desert Island".

After these advertisements, the Sugar Puffs Honey Monster was then seen in advertisements in which he was depicted playing soccer and also as a James Bond-style hero.

Punk poet, John Cooper-Clarke, the also featured in a series of off the wall adverts in the 90s - the campaign was very successful according to Clarke, himself.

In March 2008, a new campaign was launched with a television advertisement. The spot featured Honey Monster and his housemate sitting at their breakfast table, singing a nonsense song about Sugar Puffs, in the scat style. Finishing with the strapline ‘Feed the fun’, the advertisement represented the idea that Honey Monster brings out the child in everyone. The advert was criticised by Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding of the comedy duo The Mighty Boosh, who considered it to be a plagiarisation of the "crimping" songs in their television series.

In August 2008 the Honey Monster featured in a charity video and single by the group Samanda, called "Honey Love".

Another new advert was done for the Honey Waffles variant, returning the Honey Monster to his true self along with his undying love for honey. The ad ends with the tagline (as said by the Honey Monster) "Don't tell 'em about the honey, mummy", a reference to the Sugar Puffs endline from the 1970s.

In popular culture

Sugar Puffs is mentioned in almost every performance of the hit West End musical, Billy Elliot. When Billy is trying to find an excuse to leave the house, he keeps on coming up with things to go to the shop for; one of them is Sugar Puffs.

The Honey Monster was used as part of a recurring gag in the film Four Lions when one of the main characters uses an outfit of the character as a disguise in the final act.

In the British TV show Red Dwarf the character "Lister" is said to eat Sugar Puff sandwiches.

Similar products

• Honey Smacks (aka Smacks, Sugar Smacks, Honni Korn Smacks)
• Post's Golden Crisp
• Honey Wheats, Honey Wheat

External links

• Honey Monster Foods website