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Rice Krispies

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For the George Carlin sketch, see A Place For My Stuff.
Rice Krispies
Rice Krispies

Rice Krispies (known as Rice Bubbles in Australia and New Zealand) is a breakfast cereal marketed by Kellogg's in 1927 and released to the public in 1928. Rice Krispies are made of crisped rice (rice and sugar paste that is formed into rice shapes or "berries", cooked, dried and toasted), and expand forming very thin and hollowed out walls that are crunchy and crisp. When milk is added to the cereal the walls tend to collapse, creating the famous "Snap, crackle and pop" sounds.[1]

Rice Krispies cereal is widely known and popular with a long advertising history, with the elfin cartoon characters Snap, Crackle, and Pop touting the brand. In 1963, The Rolling Stones recorded a short song for a Rice Krispies television advertisement.[2][3]

Ingredients

Rice, sugar, salt, malt flavoring, iron, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), niacinamide, vitamin A palmitate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin B1), folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin D.

Health claims

Kellogg Company was found by the Federal Trade Commission to be making unsubstantiated and misleading claims in advertising on Rice Krispies boxes. Claims made by the company included "now helps support your child's immunity" and "has been improved to include antioxidants and nutrients that your family needs to help them stay healthy." The FTC had previously found fault with Kellogg's claims that Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal improved kids' attentiveness by nearly 20%.[4]

Variants

Present day

File:Vintage Rice Krispies Box.JPG
Vintage Rice Krispies box.

The names of other products within the Rice Krispies family vary depending on where they are sold:

  • "Cocoa Krispies,"(called "Coco Pops" in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Italy) a chocolate flavoured version (sold worldwide).
  • "Frosted Rice Krispies," (called "Ricicles" in the UK and Ireland)
  • "Rice Krispies with Vanilla Flavour", sold in Canada[5]
  • "Chocolate and Vanilla Rice Krispies", introduced in 2007: a cereal containing mixed flavor rice krispies.
  • "Rice Krispies Treats Cereal", first introduced in 1993: contains bunches of krispies fused together by a marshmallow coating.
  • "Strawberry Pops", sold in South Africa.[6]

Many generic versions of Rice Krispies (including frosted and chocolate variants) have been produced by other manufacturers under many different names.

Discontinued

Rice Krispies with dehydrated miniature marshmallows ("Marshmallow Rice Krispies", also known as Marshmallow Krispies, along with a tropical version, Fruity Marshmallow Krispies) were sold briefly in the U.S. and Canada.[7] Despite surviving longer in Canada than the U.S., they were finally discontinued altogether during the late 1990s.[8]

Rice Krispies with strawberry flavor included 1983's Strawberry Krispies and 1997's Strawberry Rice Krispies. Australia had Strawberry Pops, a strawberry version of Rice Bubbles which was discontinued along with other similarly coloured and sweetened foods in the mid-1970s due to concerns about the additives causing cancer. Banana-flavored Rice Krispies, including Banana Bubbles and Banana Krispies, have also been sold in the past.

An extremely sweet, artificially-colored, cereal known as "Razzle Dazzle Rice Krispies" was sold from late 1997-1999.

A cereal flavored with apple and cinnamon ("Apple Cinnamon Rice Krispies") was sold in the early 1990s.

Also discontinued are Rice Krispies with berry flavors, including "Berry Krispies" and "Berry Rice Krispies".[9]

In the late 1990s, Rice Krispies with honey,"Honey Rice Krispies" was sold in the UK and Canada for a short period of time.

In the late 1990s, Kellogg's sold Halloween versions of their regular cereal. This included "Halloween Rice Krispies" which featured a variety of orange krispies.

Other uses of Rice Krispies brand

In 1939, Kellogg's employee Mildred Day concocted and published a recipe for a Camp Fire Girls bake sale consisting of Rice Krispies, melted marshmallows, and margarine. It has remained a very popular snack dubbed Rice Krispies Treats. Kellogg's themselves have now produced commercial varieties of both marshmallow and chocolate-based treats under the name "Rice Krispies Squares" in Canada[10] and the UK, as well as versions under the original "Rice Krispies Treats" name sold in the U.S.[11]

In Australia, Rice Bubbles are found in a well-known homemade sweet, the chocolate crackle. This is often found at fetes and consists of Rice Bubbles, copha and cocoa, amongst other things. In the UK, a similar treat is made of Rice Krispies and melted chocolate.[12] White Christmas is another Australian sweet made with rice bubbles, milk powder, copha and dried fruit.

In addition to the products above, the "Rice Krispies" branding has also been associated with other products containing (or related to) Rice Krispies. These include commercial versions of 'Rice Krispie treats' known as "Rice Krispies squares",[10] cereal bars, and a multi-grain cereal known as "Rice Krispies Multi-Grain" (formerly "Muddles"[13]) sold on the UK market. Primarily aimed at children, "Multi-Grain" contains a prebiotic and is claimed by Kellogg's to promote good digestive health.[14]

Marketing history

Cartoon mascots

Snap! Crackle! and Pop!, the animated cartoon mascots for Rice Krispies, were created by illustrator Vernon Grant in the 1930s.[15] The original gnome-like Snap! first appeared in 1933 on a package of Kellogg's Rice Krispies. Crackle! and Pop! came later, and since 1939, the three have been together in many forms of advertising, including radio, movie shorts, and comic strips. An updated version of the elf-like Snap, Crackle, and Pop appeared for the first time on television in 1960; before that it was advertised by Woody Woodpecker. They are the first and longest-running cartoon characters to represent a Kellogg's product.[16]

Taglines

  • Snap! Crackle! Pop! Rice Krispies! (1966–present)
  • It's Going to Be a Rice Day (1960s)
  • The taste that tickles (Early 1990s, Canadian)
  • Snap! Crackle! Pop! Nutritious! (Late 1997-1999, Canadian)
  • What do your Rice Krispies say to you? (1990–1998)
  • Snap, Crackle, Pop. Wake up call to the world. (1998–2001)
  • Childhood is Calling (2006–present)
  • Moms Just Know (2007–present)

The "snap, crackle, pop" sound

The cereal is marketed on the basis of the noises it produces when milk is added to the bowl. The onomatopoeic noises differ by country:[17]

Prizes and Premiums

In 1938 and 1939, Vernon Grant, the illustrator who created Snap, Crackle and Pop! produced a set of six illustrations of Mother Goose themes including "Humpty Dumpty", "Jack and Jill", "Jack Be Nimble", "Little Jack Horner", "Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater", and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" that were offered as premiums in exchange for two Rice Krispies boxtops and a three-cent stamp.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ How does Kellogg's* Rice Krispies* cereal "talk"? Kellogg Canada
  2. ^ "Exile on Madison Avenue," Ben Greenman, The New Yorker (online), 2 April 2008 (Accessed 22 July 2008)
  3. ^ Rolling Stones Rice Krispies Commercial
  4. ^ Carey, Susan. Snap, Crackle, Slap: FTC Objects to Kellogg's Rice Krispies Health Claim. The Wall Street Journal. 4 June 2010.
  5. ^ "Rice Krispies with Vanilla Flavour Cereal". Kellogg Canada Inc. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  6. ^ http://www.thesavanna.co.uk/kelloggs-strawberry-pops.html
  7. ^ "The Past In Candy", X-Entertainment. Article written 2002-01-02, retrieved 2006-11-29.
  8. ^ http://www.mrbreakfast.com/cereal_detail.asp?id=161
  9. ^ "Kellogg's Discontinued Products". Kellogg NA Co. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  10. ^ a b Rice Krispies Squares, UK. Article retrieved 2006-11-29.
  11. ^ "Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats Original bars". Kellogg NA Co. Retrieved 2007-06-19. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |publisher= at position 11 (help)
  12. ^ http://www.kelloggs.com.au/tabid/152/Default.aspx
  13. ^ "Kellogg's Rice Krispies Muddles" (reference to former name), ciao.co.uk. Article retrieved 2006-11-29.
  14. ^ Kellogg's Rice Krispies Multi-Grain, Kellogg's Interactive (kelloggs.co.uk). Article retrieved 2006-11-29.
  15. ^ a b 1938 Kellogg's Rice Krispies Vernon Grant Prints
  16. ^ a b c d Rice Bubbles: The history of Snap, Crackle and Pop!
  17. ^ "The Tale – Snap! Crackle! & Pop! story." Version from May 31, 2008 Kellogg's Rice Krispies.
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