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Lucky Charms

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Lucky Charms
A bowl of Lucky Charms with milk
Product typeCereal with marshmallows
OwnerGeneral Mills
CountryUnited States
IntroducedMarch 20, 1964; 60 years ago (1964-03-20)
MarketsUnited States, United Kingdom, Canada
Tagline"They're magically delicious."
Websiteluckycharms.com

Lucky Charms is a brand of breakfast cereal produced by General Mills since 1964.[1] The cereal consists of multi-colored marshmallows and pieces of shaped pulverized oat, each resembling one of several objects or symbols associated with good luck. The packaging and marketing features a leprechaun mascot, Lucky.

History

Lucky Charms was created in 1964 by product developer John Holahan. General Mills management challenged a team of product developers to use the available manufacturing capacity from either of General Mills' two principal cereal products—Wheaties or Cheerios—and do something unique. Holahan came up with the idea after a visit to the grocery store in which he decided to mix Cheerios with bits of Brach's circus peanuts.[2]

An advertising company employed by General Mills and Company suggested marketing the new cereal around the idea of charm bracelets.[3] Thus, the charms of Lucky Charms were born. Lucky Charms was the first cereal to include marshmallows in the recipe. These pieces are called "marshmallow bits", or "marbits", due to their small size. Marbits were invented by Edward S. Olney and Howard S. Thurmon (U.S. patent number 3,607,309, filed November 1, 1968, and assigned September 9, 1971, for "preparation of marshmallow with milk solids"),[4] with the patent grant now assigned to Kraftco Corporation.

The mascot of Lucky Charms, created in 1963, is Lucky the Leprechaun, also known as Sir Charms, and originally called L.C. Leprechaun.[5] The cartoon character's voice was supplied by the late voice actor Arthur Anderson until 1992.[6] Lucky has also been voiced by Eric Bauza, Tex Brashear, Jason Graae, Doug Preis, and Daniel Ross.[7] In 1975, Lucky the Leprechaun was briefly replaced by Waldo the Wizard in New England, while Lucky remained the mascot in the rest of the United States. Envisioned as a forgetful wizard who was kind to children, Waldo initially prevailed in market tests. However, Waldo's creator Alan Snedeker suspects he sealed Waldo's fate by working on TV ads that portrayed a nicer version of Lucky.[8]

The oat cereal was not originally sugar-coated. After initial sales failed to meet expectations, the oats were sugar-coated, and the cereal's success grew. Piggy banks and plastic watches were introduced as cereal box send-away prizes as a marketing tactic to increase sales. The recipe for the cereal remained unchanged until the introduction of a new flavor: Chocolate Lucky Charms, in 2005. Later in 2012, General Mills introduced "Lucky Charms Marshmallow Treats".

Following the product launch, the General Mills marketing department found that sales performed dramatically better if the composition of the marbits changed periodically.[3] Various features of the marbits were modified to maximize their appeal to young consumers. Over the years, over 40 limited edition features such as Winter Lucky Charms, Olympic-themed Lucky Charms, and Lucky Charms featuring marshmallow landmarks from around the world were created to drive consumer demands. In focus groups and market research, more brightly colored charms resulted in better sales than did dull or pastel colors.[3] Currently, General Mills conducts "concept-ideation" studies on Lucky Charms.[3]

In April 2022, the FDA opened an investigation into whether Lucky Charms was making people ill after receiving reports from over 100 people that it caused nausea, vomiting and other symptoms. A food safety website iwaspoisoned.com separately documented over 3,000 similar complaints from all over the United States and Canada that started trending upward in 2021.[9] In September 2022, the FDA said it found no pathogen or cause behind 558 self-reported cases of illness “despite extensive testing for numerous potential microbial and chemical adulterants.” [10] [11]

Marshmallows

Lucky Charms

The first boxes of Lucky Charms cereal contained marshmallows in the shapes of pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers. The lineup has changed occasionally, beginning with the introduction of blue diamonds in 1975, followed by purple horseshoes in 1983,[12] red balloons in 1989, green trees in 1991, rainbows in 1992, blue moons in 1995, leprechaun hats in 1997 (temporarily replaced the green clovers), orange shooting stars and around-the-world charms in 1998 (added blue, green, yellow, purple, and red in 2011), a crystal ball in 2001, an hourglass in 2008,[3] and a unicorn in 2018. In 2013, 6 new rainbow swirl moons and 2 new rainbow charms were introduced. From the original four marshmallows, the permanent roster as of 2013 includes eight marshmallows.

Older marshmallows were phased out periodically. The first shapes to disappear were the yellow moons and blue diamonds, replaced by yellow/orange pots of gold and blue moons respectively in 1994. In 2006, the assortment included purple horseshoes; red balloons; blue crescent-moons; orange and white shooting stars; yellow and orange pots of gold; pink, yellow, and blue rainbows; two-tone green leprechaun hats; pink hearts (the one shape to survive since the beginning); with the most recent addition being the return of the clovers in 2004. In 2008, the Pot of Gold marshmallow was replaced by an hourglass shape.[13] 10 years later, in 2018, the hourglass shape in turn was replaced by a unicorn, which was chosen on social media by way of emojis.[14][15] The size and brightness of the marshmallows changed in 2004.[16]

Recent changes to the marshmallows include the star shape taking on a "star" design, the orange five-pointed star being complemented by a white "trail". In late 2005, another marshmallow shape was added, the "Hidden Key". It is a solid yellow marshmallow that resembles an arched door (similar to the shape of a tombstone; flat at the bottom, flat sides with a round top). When liquid is added to the cereal, the sugar in the marshmallow dissolves and the shape of a skeleton key appears "as if by magic". The tagline was, "Unlock the door with milk!" This "new" marshmallow type has been used in other hot and cold cereals, but with mixed success (from characters "hidden" inside a bigger marshmallow to letters appearing). In early June 2006, General Mills introduced Magic Mirror marshmallows. In 2008, yellow and orange hourglass marshmallows were introduced with the marketing tagline of, "The Hourglass Charm has the power to Stop Time * Speed Up Time * Reverse Time". As of 2011, swirled marshmallows and rainbow-colored stars have been introduced.[citation needed]

The marshmallows are meant to represent Lucky's magical charms, each with their own special meaning or "power". As of April 2021, the following are explanations of the permanent marshmallows:[17]

  • Heart Charm – Gives life to objects
  • Star Charm – Power of flight
  • Horseshoe Charm – Power of speed
  • Clover Charm – Power of luck
  • Blue Moon Charm – Power of invisibility
  • Unicorn Charm – Brings color to the world
  • Rainbow Charm – Power to teleport
  • Red Balloon Charm – Power to float

Limited edition marshmallows

There have been more than 30 featured limited edition marshmallow shapes over the years, with the introduction of themed Lucky Charms, such as Winter Lucky Charms. Some of these include:

  • In 1986, a whale-shaped marshmallow was temporarily added to the lineup.[18]
  • In 1990, a green pine tree-shaped marshmallow was temporarily added to the lineup.[18] During that time, the cereal promoted Earth Day with a free Colorado Blue Spruce seedling with proofs-of-purchase.[19]
  • In 1991, the star and balloon shape marshmallows were combined for a short time. The red balloon featured a gold six-pointed star. The star was removed at a later date to make the Red Balloon and Star marshmallows separate.[18]
  • In 1994, sprinkles were temporarily added to the marshmallows.
  • In 1999, the moon shape marshmallows were modified with the addition of the yellow curve line for a limited time.
  • In 2000, a "New Sparkling Rainbow" was added to the mix for a limited time. It was described by General Mills as "a sprinkling of multicolored sugar on a white rainbow marbit". This marshmallow replaced the original rainbow at this time.[20]
  • In 2010, the swirled marshmallows were in Lucky Charms for a limited time.
  • In June 2013, two new rainbow marshmallows were added for LGBT Pride Month.[21]
  • In 2015, new diamond-shaped marshmallows were added in.[citation needed]
  • Introduced in 2017, limited edition cinnamon vanilla Lucky Charms include only snowman, snowball, and snowflake-shaped marshmallows.
  • In 2018 a unicorn shaped-marshmallow was added; it became a permanent addition later that year.[citation needed]
  • In 2018 winter-themed marshmallows, including snowmen and snowflakes, were added as part of a limited edition chocolatey winter mix.[22]
  • In 2021, a limited edition variant of the cereal was promoted called "Loki Charms," modelled after the Marvel Cinematic Universe Norse God supervillain Loki in promotion of the Disney+ original television series, Loki. All supplies of the cereal were sold out in seconds upon release on June 9, 2021.[23]

Marshmallow-only promotions

For an advertising campaign in May 2017, General Mills announced they would be promoting 10,000 boxes of cereal that contain only marshmallow pieces.[24] In order to win one of the coveted boxes, consumers would need to purchase a specially marked box of regular Lucky Charms with a code on the inside panel. The code would be entered into an official website to see if the consumer is the winner of one of the 10,000 novelty boxes produced. The sweepstakes ran through December 2017.[25][26]

In August 2020, General Mills announced it would be selling packages of Lucky Charms marshmallow-pieces-only in retail outlets for a limited time. Each six-ounce bag contains hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers, blue moons, rainbows, red balloons, and unicorns.[27]

Theme song

In the earliest commercials, Lucky Charms cereal had no theme jingle; action was accompanied by a light instrumental "Irish" tune. Soon, however, a simple two-line tag was added:

Frosted Lucky Charms,
They're magically delicious![28]

This simple closer, with the kids usually singing the first line and Lucky singing the second, survived into the 1980s.

Then, with the addition of the purple horseshoe marbit, it was extended into a jingle describing the contents of the box.[29] This was later revised with the addition of red balloons to the now-familiar "Hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers, and blue moons, pots of gold, and rainbows, and tasty red balloons!” In 2008, the pot of gold was replaced with the hourglass in the theme song. It was replaced by the Unicorn in 2018.

The jingle is usually accompanied by mentioning that Lucky Charms contains whole-grain ingredients and is part of a balanced meal. General Mills's market position is centered on cereals that contain "more whole grain than any other single ingredient, which is significant, because 95 per cent of Americans aren't eating minimally 48 grams of whole grain per day as recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines".[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "1960s" (PDF). General Mills History Timeline. General Mills. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  2. ^ Hartel, Richard; Hartel, AnnaKate (4 October 2004). "The Miracle of Orange Circus Peanuts". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 29 September 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e Karen Wright (August 1999). "A Charm's Life - Lucky Charm's cereal (sic)". Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008.
  4. ^ USPTO.report. "Preparation Of Marshmallow With Milk Solids". USPTO.report. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  5. ^ Hoffman, David (2005). The Breakfast Cereal Gourmet. Andrew McMeel Publishing. p. 127. ISBN 9780740750298. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2014. the Trix Rabbit, L.C. Leprechaun, and Sonny are registered trademarks of General Mills
  6. ^ Anderson, Arthur (2010). An Actor's Odyssey: Orson Welles to Lucky the Leprechaun. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-522-1.
  7. ^ "VOICES OF Lucky the Leprechaun". Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Waldo the Wizard: The forgotten Lucky Charms Mascot". Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  9. ^ Taylor Telford (18 April 2022). "FDA investigating whether Lucky Charms is making people sick". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  10. ^ Casey, Chris (12 September 2022). "FDA closes investigation into reported illnesses from Lucky Charms". Food Dive. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  11. ^ Bartholomew, Robert (12 December 2022). "The Great Breakfast Cereal Scare". Psychology Today. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  12. ^ "The ultimate guide to Lucky Charms". A Taste of General Mills. 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  13. ^ "50 Years of Lucky Charms Cereal Boxes". 18 February 2014.
  14. ^ "Lucky Charms reveals new unicorn marshmallow". KABC-TV. 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Lucky Charms Unleashes The Power Of The Unicorn As The Next New Permanent Marshmallow In Its Magical Cereal Line-Up" (Press release). PR Newswire. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  16. ^ "General Mills Cereals". Topher's Breakfast Cereal Character Guide. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012.
  17. ^ "Lucky's Magic Charms". Lucky's World. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  18. ^ a b c "5 Things about Lucky Charm Cereal". Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  19. ^ "Lucky Charms and Christmas". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  20. ^ Elliott, Stuart (2 June 2000). "Marketers bet on the concept of good luck as a selling tool". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  21. ^ "Lucky Charms, General Mills Cereal, Celebrates LGBT Pride With #LuckyToBe Campaign". Huffingtonpost.com. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  22. ^ Dana, Lauren (19 November 2018). "Lucky Charms' Chocolatey Winter Flavor Is Here For A Limited Time". Bustle. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  23. ^ LeBlanc, Wesley (9 June 2021). "Out in Seconds". IGN. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  24. ^ Natt Garun (26 April 2017). "Lucky Charms Gives Away 10,000 Marshmallow-Only Boxes". The VERGE. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  25. ^ Painter, Kristen (15 May 2017). "General Mills to make 10,000 boxes of marshmallow-only Lucky Charms". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  26. ^ Ben Popken (16 May 2017). "Amazon's Echo Look Privacy Could Be a Big Issue Someday". NBC News. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  27. ^ Alexandra Deabler (20 August 2020). "Lucky Charms releasing marshmallow-only pouches for a limited time". Fox News. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Lucky Charms Cereal (10/02/09)". Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  29. ^ "TV Acres ad slogans". Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  30. ^ "Lucky Charms has adult allure". Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
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