Cheerios
Introduced in 1945
- In 2005, it was estimated that one out of every ten boxes of ready-to-eat cereals sold in the U.S. was a box of Cheerios. The two runners up for best selling cereal are Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and Post's Honey Bunches Of Oats.
- After having sponsored The Lone Ranger radio program throughout the 1940's, General Mills brought the masked man to television in 1949 as a vehicle to promote Cheerios. The cereal maintained a branding association with the "Hi-yo, Silver, away!" cowboy until the early 1960's. In 2001, Cheerios commemorated their relationship with the Lone Ranger by offering a retro Lone Ranger cereal box and a retro Lone Ranger lunchbox as a send-away premium.
Cheerios began life as Cheerioats in 1941.
Cheerioats were developed using the same process used to create Kix cereal a few years earlier. Vitamin-enriched dough was extruded into small shapes, dried and then shot through a puffing gun. Puffing is a pressurized, flash cooking process that had been used to make puffed rice and puffed wheat since 1904.
Unlike Kix which shot small, round pellets through the puffing gun, Cheerioats began as tiny, doughnut-shaped pieces of dough. The result was golden brown, round cereal pieces with holes in the middle.
In 1945, Quaker issued a trademark infringement complaint objecting to the term "oats" as a commercial name. General Mills changed the name to Cheerios.
The following description of Cheerios is from a 2001 General Mills press release celebrating the cereal's 60th birthday:
Introduced in 1941 as Cheerioats, the cereal met the needs of American soldiers during World War II through "Yank Packs," special one-ounce Cheerios packages available only to military personnel. During the 1940s and 1950s, Cheerios featured dozens of Lone Ranger prizes such as deputy badges, black masks and flashlight pistols. Through creative package promotions, Cheerios has commemorated everything from America's first moon landing to the turning of the century. Since its birth 60 years ago, the Cheerios family tree has grown to include five more brands: Honey Nut Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, Team Cheerios and MultiGrain Cheerios.
Click here to see all cereals from General Mills.
Featuring:
Sue
Sue was paired with the Cheerios Kid in Cheerios Commercials. In the ads, she would find herself in dangerous situations (often caused by the Cheerios Kid). As she struggled with her predicament, the kid would eat Cheerios to get some energy and eventually save her.
Sue was paired with the Cheerios Kid in Cheerios Commercials. In the ads, she would find herself in dangerous situations (often caused by the Cheerios Kid). As she struggled with her predicament, the kid would eat Cheerios to get some energy and eventually save her.
The Cheerios Kid
The Cheerios Kid was introduced as Cheerios' mascot in 1954. He was usually paired with another character named Sue who he'd save from various dangers. The Kid represented Cheerios well into the 1970's.
The Cheerios Kid was introduced as Cheerios' mascot in 1954. He was usually paired with another character named Sue who he'd save from various dangers. The Kid represented Cheerios well into the 1970's.
Cheerios Cereal Theater
Now Showing: 1959 Cheerios Kid Commercial
▶ There's more! See All Videos For Cheerios
Additional Images
These are the most recent images. Click here to see all pictures for Cheerios.
General Mills - Cheerios cereal box - Lone Ranger
Submitter: malcolmw
Uploaded: 11/23/2019
Additional details
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Comments About This Cereal
What do you think of Cheerios?
Overall Average Rating = 4 (out of 5)
View all 17 comments for this cereal.
By S.D.F.
| Cereal Rating (out of 5): |  |
Good for dietary purposes and with fruit when you're on the run.
Comment submitted: 2/1/2019 (#23908)
By Sir
| Cereal Rating (out of 5): | |
Cheerios might be the world's most perfect processed food. Mothers give Cheerios to babies, and I've got an open box at home right now... and I'm 56. I don't eat any cereal exclusively, but the one that comes closest is Cheerios.
Comment submitted: 3/17/2018 (#22831)
By Postman
| Cereal Rating (out of 5): | |
Simply the best.
Comment submitted: 1/12/2018 (#22600)
By Wee Small
| Cereal Rating (out of 5): | |
Cheerios are so good. I would literally eat them for every meal.
Comment submitted: 9/11/2017 (#22214)
By Wafflemixer (Team Breakfast Member)| Cereal Rating (out of 5): | |
I love Cheerios! Poltaire.com has a poll about the best cereal. It's an interesting list to compare against the one on this site, as it shows the results on a world map globally. Nice to see what people like as their cereal abroad.
Comment submitted: 4/13/2017 (#21622)
By G. Damnitt
| Cereal Rating (out of 5): | |
I love Cheerios!
Comment submitted: 12/2/2016 (#21094)
By Cheery No
| Cereal Rating (out of 5): | |
I refuse to buy Cheerios since thy cheapened it and called it 'improved' years ago. I remember everyone complained about it back then.
Comment submitted: 2/22/2015 (#18587)
By Yumarama (Team Breakfast Member)| Cereal Rating (out of 5): | |
Been eating this cereal on and off consistently since the 60's. These days, we go for the MultiGrain, previously, it was the honey-Nut. But when I was a kid, all there was was the original plain Cheerios which was part of the cereal rotation in our house. Avoid the Chocolate ones they put out in 2013/14; it is really a disaster. Also, the Banana one was not that great.
Comment submitted: 11/3/2014 (#17950)
By cody
I have a Liz Taylor perfume spray can pin. I sent away for it from an offer on the box. Around 1940s to 1950s.. anyone know anything about it?
Comment submitted: 11/2/2014 (#17940)
By Pywakett
| Cereal Rating (out of 5): | |
I have and always will love Cheerios! It is in my book the best cereal on the market, with or without milk!
Comment submitted: 6/4/2013 (#12276)
View all 17 comments for this cereal.
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