1 00:00:02,042 --> 00:00:03,667 - [Narrator] There are over 1,000 types of cereal 2 00:00:03,667 --> 00:00:05,042 on the market today. 3 00:00:05,042 --> 00:00:07,708 - There's oats, and rice, and wheat, 4 00:00:07,708 --> 00:00:09,917 puffed, and frosted, and toasted, 5 00:00:09,917 --> 00:00:12,042 sugared, and fruity, and chocolatey. 6 00:00:12,042 --> 00:00:13,875 [energetic music] 7 00:00:13,875 --> 00:00:16,125 It's mind boggling. 8 00:00:16,125 --> 00:00:17,250 - [Narrator] But a hundred years ago, 9 00:00:17,250 --> 00:00:20,583 the only name in breakfast is Kellogg. 10 00:00:20,583 --> 00:00:23,042 - Will Kellogg changed the way we eat breakfast 11 00:00:23,042 --> 00:00:24,708 with an affordable and convenient, 12 00:00:24,708 --> 00:00:26,458 ready-to-eat, cold cereal. 13 00:00:26,458 --> 00:00:28,042 - [Narrator] Until an unlikely rival 14 00:00:28,042 --> 00:00:30,375 challenges the king of cereal. 15 00:00:30,375 --> 00:00:32,375 - You wanna go up against Kellogg? 16 00:00:32,375 --> 00:00:34,625 - [Narrator] Igniting a decades-long battle. 17 00:00:34,625 --> 00:00:35,625 - Yes, sir. 18 00:00:35,625 --> 00:00:37,458 - Bell has never made a cereal before. 19 00:00:37,458 --> 00:00:39,292 But to him, step one is taking on 20 00:00:39,292 --> 00:00:41,417 the biggest cereal maker in the world. 21 00:00:42,583 --> 00:00:44,042 [cereal box banging] 22 00:00:44,042 --> 00:00:45,875 - Will Kellogg had fought tooth and nail. 23 00:00:45,875 --> 00:00:48,417 And you don't stay king of the industry by standing still. 24 00:00:48,417 --> 00:00:50,500 - [Narrator] Using new innovations. 25 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:51,500 - A puffing gun 26 00:00:51,500 --> 00:00:53,625 [gust of air] 27 00:00:53,625 --> 00:00:55,375 created a whole different category. 28 00:00:55,375 --> 00:00:57,667 - It wasn't just like any regular cereal. 29 00:00:57,667 --> 00:00:59,042 It had a kick to it 30 00:00:59,042 --> 00:01:00,250 - [Narrator] That heightened the senses. 31 00:01:00,250 --> 00:01:01,292 - It's crackling. 32 00:01:01,292 --> 00:01:03,542 We have a cereal that talks. 33 00:01:03,542 --> 00:01:05,542 - He had an opportunity to turn breakfast cereal 34 00:01:05,542 --> 00:01:08,958 into something it had never been before, which is fun. 35 00:01:08,958 --> 00:01:10,417 - It smelled like candy 36 00:01:10,417 --> 00:01:12,708 and it tasted like nothing else on the market. 37 00:01:12,708 --> 00:01:15,250 - [Narrator] And launched a new age of advertising. 38 00:01:15,250 --> 00:01:16,625 - The first ever athlete 39 00:01:16,625 --> 00:01:18,625 to be featured on the Wheaties box was Lou Gehrig. 40 00:01:18,625 --> 00:01:21,375 - [James Ford Bell] Wheaties, the Breakfast of Champions. 41 00:01:21,375 --> 00:01:22,875 - [Narrator] And the result, 42 00:01:22,875 --> 00:01:25,167 the most popular cereal in the world. 43 00:01:26,708 --> 00:01:29,208 - Who would've thought that a cold oat cereal 44 00:01:29,208 --> 00:01:31,208 would be the mega- hit that it was? 45 00:01:31,208 --> 00:01:35,250 - [Narrator] And a beloved $22 billion industry. 46 00:01:35,250 --> 00:01:38,292 - The intense rivalry between Will Kellogg 47 00:01:38,292 --> 00:01:39,500 and James Ford Bell 48 00:01:39,500 --> 00:01:41,708 changes the cereal industry as we know it. 49 00:01:44,083 --> 00:01:46,667 [suspenseful music] 50 00:02:04,333 --> 00:02:06,708 - [Narrator] Since launching in 1906, 51 00:02:06,708 --> 00:02:09,708 Kellogg's Corn Flakes have been the number one cereal 52 00:02:09,708 --> 00:02:10,958 in America. 53 00:02:10,958 --> 00:02:12,375 - For the last 15 years, 54 00:02:12,375 --> 00:02:15,458 Kellogg's greatest rival was C. W. Post, 55 00:02:15,458 --> 00:02:18,333 who produced Grape-Nuts and Post Toasties. 56 00:02:18,333 --> 00:02:20,375 Even Quaker Oats got into the cereal game. 57 00:02:20,375 --> 00:02:23,042 But none of these companies could truly compete 58 00:02:23,042 --> 00:02:24,667 with Kellogg's Corn Flakes. 59 00:02:24,667 --> 00:02:27,958 - [Narrator] But in 1921, an unexpected challenger 60 00:02:27,958 --> 00:02:29,875 is about to emerge. 61 00:02:29,875 --> 00:02:32,708 [rhythmic music] 62 00:02:34,083 --> 00:02:37,458 James Ford Bell is an eager, rising executive 63 00:02:37,458 --> 00:02:39,750 at the Washburn-Crosby Flour Mill. 64 00:02:39,750 --> 00:02:41,083 - James Ford Bell is the son 65 00:02:41,083 --> 00:02:43,000 of the former president of the mill. 66 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:44,625 And he's paid his dues, having worked up 67 00:02:44,625 --> 00:02:47,375 from a lowly salesman all the way to vice president. 68 00:02:47,375 --> 00:02:48,792 - [Narrator] The Washburn-Crosby 69 00:02:48,792 --> 00:02:51,625 is one of the top four flour mills in the world. 70 00:02:51,625 --> 00:02:54,250 - They created the same Gold Medal Flour 71 00:02:54,250 --> 00:02:56,708 that you still see in supermarkets today. 72 00:02:56,708 --> 00:02:59,542 - [Narrator] Sales have hit an all-time low. 73 00:02:59,542 --> 00:03:02,625 - Washburn-Crosby is right on the Mississippi River. 74 00:03:02,625 --> 00:03:05,500 And it's using initially water power. 75 00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:06,958 - But with the rise of electricity, 76 00:03:06,958 --> 00:03:09,750 making it possible to open mills anywhere in the country, 77 00:03:09,750 --> 00:03:12,083 new competitors start springing up. 78 00:03:12,083 --> 00:03:13,667 - [Narrator] Bell sees the writing on the wall 79 00:03:13,667 --> 00:03:17,208 for a company whose sole product is wheat flour. 80 00:03:18,833 --> 00:03:20,042 - So I think that might have put 81 00:03:20,042 --> 00:03:21,875 a little bit of pressure on him 82 00:03:21,875 --> 00:03:25,500 to think about the future and diversify their products. 83 00:03:25,500 --> 00:03:27,958 And so James Ford Bell was really looking 84 00:03:27,958 --> 00:03:29,250 for the next big thing. 85 00:03:30,625 --> 00:03:32,333 - [Narrator] Bell hears about a physician 86 00:03:32,333 --> 00:03:33,875 at a local sanitarium 87 00:03:33,875 --> 00:03:37,333 who's created his own whole grain wheat flaked cereal. 88 00:03:37,333 --> 00:03:39,917 [rhythmic music] 89 00:03:39,917 --> 00:03:41,208 - Physicians at sanitariums 90 00:03:41,208 --> 00:03:43,708 would oftentimes curate extremely strict diets 91 00:03:43,708 --> 00:03:46,542 and exercise regimens for their patients 92 00:03:46,542 --> 00:03:48,708 and would create their own recipes. 93 00:03:49,917 --> 00:03:51,917 - [Narrator] These dishes are typically vegetarian, 94 00:03:51,917 --> 00:03:56,750 often high in fiber, and rarely designed for taste. 95 00:03:56,750 --> 00:04:00,083 - So usually this was not food you wanted to eat. 96 00:04:00,083 --> 00:04:02,208 It was food you were told to eat. 97 00:04:05,208 --> 00:04:06,958 But he eats one. 98 00:04:06,958 --> 00:04:08,792 It's a delicious, crispy flake. 99 00:04:08,792 --> 00:04:12,542 And he realizes this could be something incredibly special. 100 00:04:12,542 --> 00:04:15,333 - Kellogg's Corn Flakes, they're very popular 101 00:04:15,333 --> 00:04:18,042 in large part for their flavor and their texture. 102 00:04:18,042 --> 00:04:20,833 This product is different because it's made out of wheat 103 00:04:20,833 --> 00:04:23,375 and it has a little bit of a different flavor. 104 00:04:24,583 --> 00:04:26,875 - And what did you say that you called this? 105 00:04:26,875 --> 00:04:27,708 - Wheat flakes. 106 00:04:29,625 --> 00:04:32,875 - James Ford Bell immediately starts thinking 107 00:04:32,875 --> 00:04:37,333 how can he leverage this product for Washburn-Crosby? 108 00:04:37,333 --> 00:04:39,375 He sees the possibilities 109 00:04:39,375 --> 00:04:42,208 in a wheat flake for the American market. 110 00:04:42,208 --> 00:04:45,083 - Cereal is immensely popular at the time. 111 00:04:45,083 --> 00:04:47,083 If Bell wants to diversify beyond 112 00:04:47,083 --> 00:04:49,167 simply making wheat flour, 113 00:04:49,167 --> 00:04:51,458 a wheat cereal is a great idea. 114 00:04:52,708 --> 00:04:55,542 - [Narrator] Bell buys the recipe from the physician 115 00:04:55,542 --> 00:04:58,667 and tasks his head miller with refining the recipe 116 00:04:58,667 --> 00:05:01,375 to make it more palatable for the American public. 117 00:05:01,375 --> 00:05:02,708 - The problem with whole grains 118 00:05:02,708 --> 00:05:05,250 is they tend to be a little dry and gritty. 119 00:05:05,250 --> 00:05:08,542 - They were trying dozens of varieties 120 00:05:08,542 --> 00:05:10,833 of different types of wheat, 121 00:05:10,833 --> 00:05:14,208 trying different ways of processing it, 122 00:05:14,208 --> 00:05:16,042 going about it in a very methodical way 123 00:05:16,042 --> 00:05:20,083 to really discover what was gonna give the best flavor. 124 00:05:20,083 --> 00:05:22,542 [footsteps on stairs] 125 00:05:22,542 --> 00:05:24,250 - [Narrator] After months of trial and error, 126 00:05:24,250 --> 00:05:27,875 Bell's team presents 36 different recipes. 127 00:05:29,042 --> 00:05:31,958 [rhythmic music] 128 00:05:33,750 --> 00:05:36,417 [light crunching] 129 00:05:45,250 --> 00:05:46,250 - Eight. 130 00:05:46,250 --> 00:05:49,292 [cereal crunching] 131 00:05:51,708 --> 00:05:54,375 [bright music] 132 00:05:57,792 --> 00:06:00,250 [cereal crunching] 133 00:06:00,250 --> 00:06:01,833 - 14. 134 00:06:01,833 --> 00:06:03,292 This one. 135 00:06:03,292 --> 00:06:04,708 This is it. 136 00:06:04,708 --> 00:06:06,250 - Bell decides that he can be a legitimate competitor 137 00:06:06,250 --> 00:06:07,792 to Kellogg's Corn Flakes. 138 00:06:07,792 --> 00:06:10,667 Now remember, his company has never made a cereal before. 139 00:06:10,667 --> 00:06:12,458 But to him, step one is taking on 140 00:06:12,458 --> 00:06:15,208 the biggest cereal maker in the world. 141 00:06:15,208 --> 00:06:16,708 - [Narrator] Now all Bell has to do 142 00:06:16,708 --> 00:06:19,125 is convince the mill's board of directors. 143 00:06:19,125 --> 00:06:21,958 [rhythmic music] 144 00:06:26,542 --> 00:06:28,333 - You wanna go up against Kellogg? 145 00:06:29,583 --> 00:06:31,792 - Even if we were to only carve out 146 00:06:31,792 --> 00:06:35,542 just a small, tiny fraction of the cereal market, 147 00:06:35,542 --> 00:06:36,917 I mean, we are talking 148 00:06:36,917 --> 00:06:41,000 about hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. 149 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,625 - And you're willing to stick your neck out on this? 150 00:06:44,750 --> 00:06:45,708 - I am. 151 00:06:45,708 --> 00:06:46,583 Yes, sir. 152 00:06:47,833 --> 00:06:50,125 - All right, I'll talk to the rest of the board. 153 00:06:51,667 --> 00:06:53,417 - Bell is eventually able to convince the rest of the board 154 00:06:53,417 --> 00:06:54,875 that it's worth the risk. 155 00:06:54,875 --> 00:06:57,208 They realize how much money Kellogg is making 156 00:06:57,208 --> 00:07:00,958 and they all want a big old bite of that bowl of money. 157 00:07:00,958 --> 00:07:04,042 - [Narrator] In 1923, the Washburn-Crosby Company 158 00:07:04,042 --> 00:07:07,042 invests in a factory to put their wheat flakes 159 00:07:07,042 --> 00:07:08,000 into production. 160 00:07:09,708 --> 00:07:12,292 But back in Battle Creek, Michigan, 161 00:07:12,292 --> 00:07:14,625 the king of cereal, Will Kellogg, 162 00:07:14,625 --> 00:07:18,167 is also hard at work trying to keep his crown. 163 00:07:18,167 --> 00:07:20,958 - You don't stay king of the industry by standing still. 164 00:07:20,958 --> 00:07:23,917 Will Kellogg needs to expand beyond corn flakes. 165 00:07:25,542 --> 00:07:28,833 [cereal crunching] 166 00:07:28,833 --> 00:07:29,625 - Hmm. 167 00:07:32,458 --> 00:07:33,792 [suspenseful music] 168 00:07:33,792 --> 00:07:38,667 - 1923 is one of those kind of interesting years 169 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,542 in cereal development, when you have two companies 170 00:07:41,542 --> 00:07:44,042 working on essentially the same product, 171 00:07:44,042 --> 00:07:46,958 but they don't know that the other company is working on it. 172 00:07:46,958 --> 00:07:48,542 - [Narrator] In 1923, 173 00:07:48,542 --> 00:07:50,958 Kellogg's beats Washburn-Crosby to market 174 00:07:50,958 --> 00:07:54,417 with their own wheat cereal, Pep Flakes, 175 00:07:55,750 --> 00:07:57,792 hitting store shelves with a marketing campaign 176 00:07:57,792 --> 00:08:00,667 in magazines and newspapers nationwide. 177 00:08:00,667 --> 00:08:03,208 - Pep was essentially just a wheat-based version 178 00:08:03,208 --> 00:08:04,875 of the Corn Flake recipe. 179 00:08:04,875 --> 00:08:07,833 Pep was higher in fiber, but Corn Flakes tasted better. 180 00:08:07,833 --> 00:08:10,542 - [Narrator] Just months later in 1924, 181 00:08:10,542 --> 00:08:13,708 with no choice but to go head to head with Kellogg, 182 00:08:13,708 --> 00:08:17,208 Washburn-Crosby Wheat Flakes hits the market. 183 00:08:17,375 --> 00:08:20,667 - That sounds more like a law firm than it does a cereal. 184 00:08:21,042 --> 00:08:23,458 - [Narrator] But sales are dismal. 185 00:08:24,708 --> 00:08:26,750 - I think what Washburn-Crosby had going against them 186 00:08:26,750 --> 00:08:30,208 is they didn't have the same name recognition as Kellogg. 187 00:08:30,208 --> 00:08:31,583 - Pep Flakes is more popular 188 00:08:31,583 --> 00:08:33,500 because Kellogg's name is on the box. 189 00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:36,375 People know and trust the brand already. 190 00:08:36,375 --> 00:08:38,208 - [Narrator] Now, with an unpopular cereal 191 00:08:38,208 --> 00:08:41,958 further weakening the struggling mill, Bell is desperate. 192 00:08:43,167 --> 00:08:45,542 - He thinks it's a better product than Kellogg's. 193 00:08:45,542 --> 00:08:48,042 He thinks it's just a matter of marketing 194 00:08:48,042 --> 00:08:53,042 to get people to try their Wheat Flakes and be convinced. 195 00:08:53,917 --> 00:08:55,500 - [Narrator] In a Hail Mary move, 196 00:08:55,500 --> 00:08:58,542 Bell decides to rename the flailing cereal. 197 00:08:58,542 --> 00:08:59,667 - What does he decide to do? 198 00:08:59,667 --> 00:09:01,042 Open it up to the company. 199 00:09:01,208 --> 00:09:04,000 Let's have a vote on what the best name could be. 200 00:09:07,208 --> 00:09:08,875 - Gold Medal Wheat Flakes? 201 00:09:09,625 --> 00:09:11,125 It's from Paul at accounting. 202 00:09:12,333 --> 00:09:13,167 - No. 203 00:09:14,417 --> 00:09:15,500 - Okay. 204 00:09:17,542 --> 00:09:19,292 How about this one? 205 00:09:19,292 --> 00:09:20,542 Nutties. 206 00:09:20,542 --> 00:09:21,542 - What, no. 207 00:09:21,542 --> 00:09:24,208 Come on, Nutties is confusing. 208 00:09:26,625 --> 00:09:27,917 [Don chuckles] 209 00:09:27,917 --> 00:09:28,750 What is it? 210 00:09:29,708 --> 00:09:31,208 - You're not gonna like it. 211 00:09:31,208 --> 00:09:32,708 - Why not? 212 00:09:32,708 --> 00:09:34,167 - Because I like it, which means you won't. 213 00:09:35,542 --> 00:09:37,875 [suspenseful music] 214 00:09:37,875 --> 00:09:41,542 - Very similar naming convention to a bunch of other stuff 215 00:09:41,542 --> 00:09:43,458 that's happening in the early 20th century, 216 00:09:43,458 --> 00:09:46,000 like Theodore Roosevelt becomes Teddy. 217 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,625 Instead of moving pictures, they become movies. 218 00:09:50,542 --> 00:09:51,625 - Wheaties. 219 00:09:52,875 --> 00:09:56,208 - [Narrator] And soon, the newly-rebranded Wheaties 220 00:09:56,208 --> 00:09:59,042 will ignite a decades-long battle for cereal dominance, 221 00:09:59,042 --> 00:10:01,667 pitting Bell's struggling flour mill 222 00:10:01,667 --> 00:10:03,917 against Will Kellogg's cereal empire. 223 00:10:10,167 --> 00:10:12,708 - [Narrator] It's been more than a year since James Ford Bell 224 00:10:12,708 --> 00:10:15,750 renamed his cereal Wheaties. 225 00:10:15,750 --> 00:10:17,833 But sales have not improved. 226 00:10:19,042 --> 00:10:21,042 - They invested a lot of money and a lot of effort 227 00:10:21,042 --> 00:10:24,250 into creating Wheaties, but it really isn't catching on yet. 228 00:10:24,250 --> 00:10:25,708 And so the board of directors 229 00:10:25,708 --> 00:10:27,750 is really starting to get angry, 230 00:10:27,750 --> 00:10:29,208 losing their patience over it. 231 00:10:29,208 --> 00:10:31,875 - [Narrator] Bell and company treasurer Donald Davis 232 00:10:31,875 --> 00:10:33,750 call an emergency meeting 233 00:10:33,750 --> 00:10:35,875 with the head of marketing, Samuel Gale. 234 00:10:37,208 --> 00:10:38,250 - Sorry I'm late. 235 00:10:38,250 --> 00:10:39,875 - Samuel Gale is a young man. 236 00:10:39,875 --> 00:10:41,208 And believe it or not, by age 30, 237 00:10:41,208 --> 00:10:44,917 he's already seen as an advertising wizard. 238 00:10:44,917 --> 00:10:48,250 Samuel is the one who created Betty Crocker 239 00:10:48,250 --> 00:10:52,000 in an attempt to sell more Gold Medal Flour, 240 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,875 where this fictional character would give baking advice 241 00:10:55,875 --> 00:10:58,958 to bakers and housewives all over the country. 242 00:10:58,958 --> 00:11:01,375 - [Narrator] And now, he's in charge 243 00:11:01,375 --> 00:11:02,375 of the Wheaties account. 244 00:11:02,375 --> 00:11:03,708 - We're pulling Wheaties. 245 00:11:05,750 --> 00:11:07,042 - You're kidding. 246 00:11:07,042 --> 00:11:09,292 - The board wants to cut their losses, 247 00:11:09,292 --> 00:11:11,750 and I can't blame them for that. 248 00:11:13,125 --> 00:11:16,500 - Okay, can I just say it's actually exceeding projections 249 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:18,125 in certain markets. 250 00:11:18,125 --> 00:11:20,417 I mean, specifically, where we've had a radio push, it- 251 00:11:20,417 --> 00:11:22,792 - Sam, listen. The decision has already been made. 252 00:11:22,792 --> 00:11:25,708 [suspenseful music] 253 00:11:25,708 --> 00:11:27,042 - How much time have we got? 254 00:11:29,583 --> 00:11:30,667 - Why? 255 00:11:31,708 --> 00:11:33,583 - [Narrator] Samuel Gale has a marketing idea 256 00:11:33,583 --> 00:11:35,167 that has never been done before. 257 00:11:36,500 --> 00:11:37,792 [suspenseful music] 258 00:11:37,792 --> 00:11:41,542 In 1926, home radios reach record sales 259 00:11:41,542 --> 00:11:44,250 of $430 million, 260 00:11:44,250 --> 00:11:47,583 up from $60 million just five years before. 261 00:11:47,583 --> 00:11:51,917 - But there wasn't a lot of advertising on early radio. 262 00:11:51,917 --> 00:11:53,917 A lot of it was sponsorships, 263 00:11:53,917 --> 00:11:55,708 where the host would just kind of read, 264 00:11:55,708 --> 00:11:59,375 you know, this show is sponsored by X, Y, Z company. 265 00:11:59,375 --> 00:12:01,875 - [Narrator] Hoping to leverage the popularity of radio, 266 00:12:01,875 --> 00:12:04,792 Gale assembles a barbershop quartet 267 00:12:04,792 --> 00:12:09,000 to sing a short song written specifically for Wheaties. 268 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,708 It's what we today call a jingle. 269 00:12:12,708 --> 00:12:17,375 ♪ Have you tried Wheaties 270 00:12:17,375 --> 00:12:21,375 ♪ They're whole wheat with all of the bran ♪ 271 00:12:21,375 --> 00:12:23,667 - The Wheaties Quartet is made up of four men 272 00:12:23,667 --> 00:12:25,958 who have completely regular day jobs. 273 00:12:25,958 --> 00:12:29,250 One worked in the printing industry, one's an undertaker, 274 00:12:29,250 --> 00:12:30,625 one's a court bailiff, 275 00:12:30,625 --> 00:12:32,417 and the fourth had some sort of connection 276 00:12:32,417 --> 00:12:33,875 to a local grain company. 277 00:12:33,875 --> 00:12:35,500 - These early days of radio, 278 00:12:35,500 --> 00:12:39,208 they did not really have great recording facilities. 279 00:12:39,208 --> 00:12:43,917 So every time the jingle was to appear on the air, 280 00:12:43,917 --> 00:12:46,083 the barbershop quartet would have to show up 281 00:12:46,083 --> 00:12:49,375 at the radio station and sing it live. 282 00:12:49,375 --> 00:12:52,333 - [Narrator] The Wheaties jingle debuts over the airwaves 283 00:12:52,333 --> 00:12:55,208 on December 24th, 1926. 284 00:12:55,208 --> 00:12:59,292 - It's the first jingle to advertise a product, 285 00:12:59,292 --> 00:13:02,167 and it becomes incredibly popular. 286 00:13:02,167 --> 00:13:05,375 It really spreads the Wheaties name 287 00:13:05,375 --> 00:13:08,375 much farther than conventional advertising. 288 00:13:08,375 --> 00:13:10,958 - [Narrator] Sales of Wheaties skyrocket, 289 00:13:10,958 --> 00:13:13,542 saving the cereal and the flour mill 290 00:13:13,542 --> 00:13:14,500 from failure. 291 00:13:14,500 --> 00:13:15,833 - Kellogg's is still number one, 292 00:13:15,833 --> 00:13:18,917 but the success of Wheaties turns Washburn-Crosby 293 00:13:18,917 --> 00:13:22,083 into a formidable challenger to Kellogg's. 294 00:13:22,083 --> 00:13:23,833 - [Narrator] And it earns James Ford Bell 295 00:13:23,833 --> 00:13:26,250 a promotion to company president. 296 00:13:28,042 --> 00:13:31,208 But Bell now faces a new challenge. 297 00:13:31,208 --> 00:13:35,333 - The jingle really helps Wheaties become so successful 298 00:13:35,333 --> 00:13:38,208 that they just don't have the facilities 299 00:13:38,208 --> 00:13:42,208 to produce enough Wheaties to ship across the country. 300 00:13:42,208 --> 00:13:45,708 Washburn-Crosby can't keep up with demand. 301 00:13:45,708 --> 00:13:47,542 - Bell doesn't wanna lose momentum, 302 00:13:47,542 --> 00:13:49,083 but building new factories 303 00:13:49,083 --> 00:13:50,875 takes a lot of time and resources. 304 00:13:50,875 --> 00:13:53,875 It could take years, and he does not want that. 305 00:13:53,875 --> 00:13:54,917 - [Narrator] He'll have no chance of 306 00:13:54,917 --> 00:13:56,417 keeping up with Kellogg 307 00:13:56,417 --> 00:13:58,542 unless he makes a bold move. 308 00:13:58,542 --> 00:14:01,958 [rhythmic music] 309 00:14:01,958 --> 00:14:04,917 On June 20th, 1928, Bell orchestrates 310 00:14:04,917 --> 00:14:07,333 an unprecedented campaign, 311 00:14:07,333 --> 00:14:10,250 convincing dozens of competing mills across the country 312 00:14:10,250 --> 00:14:13,458 to merge together to form a new conglomerate 313 00:14:13,458 --> 00:14:15,958 and ensuring a steady supply of wheat. 314 00:14:18,375 --> 00:14:21,833 - Joining together made them stronger, 315 00:14:21,833 --> 00:14:24,750 made them have more access to capital. 316 00:14:24,750 --> 00:14:29,042 So they start expanding across the country. 317 00:14:29,042 --> 00:14:32,667 Mills in Texas, and California, in the Northeast, 318 00:14:32,667 --> 00:14:34,958 and Oregon, all throughout the Midwest. 319 00:14:36,542 --> 00:14:38,625 - [Narrator] Bell appoints himself president 320 00:14:38,625 --> 00:14:41,250 of the newly formed General Mills. 321 00:14:45,125 --> 00:14:47,125 And overnight, General Mills 322 00:14:47,125 --> 00:14:50,375 becomes the largest flour milling operation in the world. 323 00:14:51,458 --> 00:14:53,083 - Now, with access to all these mills, 324 00:14:53,083 --> 00:14:56,042 he can churn out boxes of Wheaties nationwide 325 00:14:56,042 --> 00:14:58,375 and go head-to-head with his main competitor, 326 00:14:58,375 --> 00:14:59,375 which is Kellogg's. 327 00:15:01,042 --> 00:15:02,375 - [Narrator] Back at Kellogg's, 328 00:15:02,375 --> 00:15:04,208 with the new General Mills conglomerate 329 00:15:04,208 --> 00:15:07,667 breathing down his neck, Will Kellogg knows he needs 330 00:15:07,667 --> 00:15:09,958 to make a radical move. 331 00:15:09,958 --> 00:15:12,375 - Kellogg starts thinking kind of creatively 332 00:15:12,375 --> 00:15:15,208 and starts expanding into another grain. 333 00:15:15,208 --> 00:15:17,000 - With flake cereals like Wheaties 334 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:18,375 expanding in the market, 335 00:15:18,375 --> 00:15:20,208 Kellogg wanted to come up with something different 336 00:15:20,208 --> 00:15:22,917 and innovative to stay relevant and on top. 337 00:15:22,917 --> 00:15:24,125 - [Narrator] Kellogg gambles 338 00:15:24,125 --> 00:15:26,375 that he can stay ahead of General Mills 339 00:15:26,375 --> 00:15:29,417 by venturing away from conventional flaked cereal. 340 00:15:30,625 --> 00:15:33,625 - They start producing a cereal made out of rice. 341 00:15:34,917 --> 00:15:36,958 - There had been rice cereals before, 342 00:15:36,958 --> 00:15:38,042 but they're not super popular 343 00:15:38,042 --> 00:15:39,250 because nobody's figured out 344 00:15:39,250 --> 00:15:41,917 how to make a good rice cereal yet. 345 00:15:41,917 --> 00:15:43,042 - The recipe that Kellogg came up with 346 00:15:43,042 --> 00:15:45,083 involved cooking the rice in malt syrup, 347 00:15:45,083 --> 00:15:47,208 rolling it out, and letting it dry 348 00:15:47,208 --> 00:15:48,708 so that the flavors can intensify, 349 00:15:48,708 --> 00:15:51,458 and then baking it until it becomes light and crispy. 350 00:15:52,375 --> 00:15:55,250 [cereal crackling] 351 00:15:55,250 --> 00:15:58,083 - [Narrator] And the result is something unheard of. 352 00:15:58,083 --> 00:15:59,458 - Do you hear that? 353 00:15:59,458 --> 00:16:00,708 It's crackling. 354 00:16:00,708 --> 00:16:01,833 - When you pour milk on it, 355 00:16:01,833 --> 00:16:03,958 the milk actually begins to break down 356 00:16:03,958 --> 00:16:05,583 the structural integrity 357 00:16:05,583 --> 00:16:08,500 of the walls of the air pockets within the rice. 358 00:16:08,500 --> 00:16:12,708 And as they collapse, they begin to make certain sounds. 359 00:16:12,708 --> 00:16:13,833 - We'll fix that. 360 00:16:13,833 --> 00:16:15,708 - Fix that, are you crazy? 361 00:16:15,708 --> 00:16:17,458 Do you know what we have here, huh? 362 00:16:18,875 --> 00:16:21,958 We have a cereal that talks. 363 00:16:23,333 --> 00:16:26,375 - The fact that it made sound was totally unintentional, 364 00:16:26,375 --> 00:16:29,125 but Will Kellogg saw this as an opportunity 365 00:16:29,125 --> 00:16:30,375 to have the cereal stand out 366 00:16:30,375 --> 00:16:32,042 from everything else that was on the market. 367 00:16:32,042 --> 00:16:33,625 - He recognized that he had an opportunity 368 00:16:33,625 --> 00:16:35,083 to turn breakfast cereal 369 00:16:35,083 --> 00:16:37,583 into something it had never been before, which is fun. 370 00:16:38,792 --> 00:16:40,542 - [Narrator] Kellogg's Rice Krispies 371 00:16:40,542 --> 00:16:43,208 hits the shelves in 1928. 372 00:16:43,208 --> 00:16:46,667 Playing on the recent rise of talkies at the movie theaters, 373 00:16:46,667 --> 00:16:47,875 it's marketed 374 00:16:47,875 --> 00:16:49,208 as the talking cereal. 375 00:16:49,208 --> 00:16:50,917 - It makes noise when you pour the milk on it. 376 00:16:50,917 --> 00:16:53,083 And it really, for that reason, 377 00:16:53,083 --> 00:16:55,667 appeals to children in a way 378 00:16:55,667 --> 00:16:58,583 that some of the other major cereals at the time did not. 379 00:16:58,583 --> 00:17:00,917 - [Narrator] Capitalizing on its popularity with kids, 380 00:17:00,917 --> 00:17:05,000 Kellogg's sponsors America's first children's radio program, 381 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:06,583 "The Singing Lady," 382 00:17:06,583 --> 00:17:10,542 and releases their own radio jingle for Rice Krispies, 383 00:17:10,542 --> 00:17:11,875 featuring the phrase. 384 00:17:11,875 --> 00:17:14,333 ♪ Snap, crackle, and pop 385 00:17:14,333 --> 00:17:16,250 - So a South Dakota illustrator 386 00:17:16,250 --> 00:17:19,042 was listening to a radio advertisement, 387 00:17:19,042 --> 00:17:21,583 and he heard that snap, crackle, and pop, 388 00:17:21,583 --> 00:17:23,208 and he was inspired. 389 00:17:23,208 --> 00:17:26,375 So he created these three elf-like characters, 390 00:17:26,375 --> 00:17:28,750 and he sent them blindly unsolicited 391 00:17:28,750 --> 00:17:31,292 to the Kellogg's ad agency. 392 00:17:31,292 --> 00:17:33,833 - They're from some cartoonist named Vernon Grant, 393 00:17:33,833 --> 00:17:35,125 submitted them on spec. 394 00:17:43,125 --> 00:17:44,917 - Ask him what he wants for these and pay it. 395 00:17:44,917 --> 00:17:46,375 [suspenseful music] 396 00:17:46,375 --> 00:17:49,708 - [Narrator] Named Mr. Snap, Mr. Crackle, and Mr. Pop, 397 00:17:49,708 --> 00:17:53,708 the three mascots make their debut in 1933, 398 00:17:53,708 --> 00:17:57,750 appearing in ads and on the cereal boxes themselves. 399 00:17:57,750 --> 00:17:59,375 - They were all charming. 400 00:17:59,375 --> 00:18:04,708 They are the OG progenitors of these incredible characters 401 00:18:04,708 --> 00:18:06,500 that you associate with your favorite cereal. 402 00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:10,208 - So the fun thing about the Rice Krispies characters 403 00:18:10,208 --> 00:18:12,917 is of course Snap, Crackle, and Pop 404 00:18:12,917 --> 00:18:14,292 are onomatopoeias, right? 405 00:18:14,292 --> 00:18:17,208 They're words that sound like the noises they make. 406 00:18:17,208 --> 00:18:20,292 So when they start to market it in other countries, 407 00:18:20,292 --> 00:18:24,042 they adopt onomatopoeias for those same sounds 408 00:18:24,042 --> 00:18:25,958 in those other languages. 409 00:18:25,958 --> 00:18:28,250 In Finnish, it's Riks, Raks, Poks. 410 00:18:28,250 --> 00:18:31,083 - Piff, Paff, Puff in Swedish. 411 00:18:31,083 --> 00:18:33,917 - Pim, Pum, Pam in Spanish. 412 00:18:33,917 --> 00:18:36,125 - And one of my favorites, in German, 413 00:18:36,125 --> 00:18:39,292 it's Knisper, Knasper, Knusper. 414 00:18:39,292 --> 00:18:42,042 - Polls actually tell us that more Americans 415 00:18:42,042 --> 00:18:44,208 can identify Snap, Crackle, and Pop 416 00:18:44,208 --> 00:18:47,083 than can identify a single Supreme Court justice. 417 00:18:49,500 --> 00:18:52,208 - [Narrator] In 1934, as Kellogg continues 418 00:18:52,208 --> 00:18:54,542 to devour General Mills' market share, 419 00:18:54,542 --> 00:18:58,458 James Ford Bell is determined not to fall behind, 420 00:18:58,458 --> 00:19:02,375 creating his own mascots with real-life inspirations. 421 00:19:03,708 --> 00:19:06,625 [energetic music] 422 00:19:13,750 --> 00:19:16,292 - Americans have always looked up to athletes, 423 00:19:16,292 --> 00:19:17,875 real-life superheroes. 424 00:19:17,875 --> 00:19:20,500 General Mills knew this by putting these athletes 425 00:19:20,500 --> 00:19:23,750 on Wheaties boxes, they could capitalize on their fame. 426 00:19:25,500 --> 00:19:28,875 - Wheaties, the Breakfast of Champions. 427 00:19:28,875 --> 00:19:30,667 [triumphant music] 428 00:19:30,667 --> 00:19:33,333 - The first ever athlete to be featured on the Wheaties box 429 00:19:33,333 --> 00:19:36,417 was actually Lou Gehrig, the Yankees baseball player. 430 00:19:36,417 --> 00:19:37,750 It's a pretty big deal. 431 00:19:37,750 --> 00:19:40,792 - So the message that they are saying to kids 432 00:19:40,792 --> 00:19:43,708 is, look, Lou Gehrig must eat Wheaties. 433 00:19:43,708 --> 00:19:46,042 And if you wanna grow up big and strong 434 00:19:46,042 --> 00:19:48,333 and a great baseball player like Lou Gehrig, 435 00:19:48,333 --> 00:19:49,833 you gotta eat Wheaties. 436 00:19:49,833 --> 00:19:52,083 - [Narrator] The Breakfast of Champions campaign 437 00:19:52,083 --> 00:19:57,250 sparks a surge in sales and creates a lasting brand legacy. 438 00:19:58,375 --> 00:19:59,750 - You know you made it when your face 439 00:19:59,750 --> 00:20:01,083 is on the Wheaties box. 440 00:20:01,083 --> 00:20:03,375 Who doesn't want their face on a Wheaties box? 441 00:20:03,375 --> 00:20:05,250 I want my face on the Wheaties box, 442 00:20:05,250 --> 00:20:07,542 but I don't think that's happening. 443 00:20:07,542 --> 00:20:10,708 - [Narrator] In 1936, General Mills goes even further 444 00:20:10,708 --> 00:20:14,333 to market Wheaties and sponsors radio broadcasts 445 00:20:14,333 --> 00:20:16,875 of Major League Baseball games. 446 00:20:16,875 --> 00:20:19,542 - At the time, baseball broadcasts were pretty sporadic. 447 00:20:19,542 --> 00:20:22,917 So what Wheaties did was offer Major League Baseball 448 00:20:22,917 --> 00:20:24,500 a consistent radio presence 449 00:20:24,500 --> 00:20:26,875 in exchange for advertising for Wheaties. 450 00:20:26,875 --> 00:20:30,375 - These radio broadcasts extend beyond Minneapolis 451 00:20:30,375 --> 00:20:34,958 to 95 other radio stations and teams throughout the Midwest. 452 00:20:34,958 --> 00:20:37,833 - It's strange to think about, but Wheaties and General Mills 453 00:20:37,833 --> 00:20:42,125 kind of launched modern sports broadcasting. 454 00:20:42,125 --> 00:20:44,000 - [Narrator] But it also sets the stage 455 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,833 for the rise of an unexpected star. 456 00:20:46,833 --> 00:20:51,750 - They have a contest for the best sportscaster. 457 00:20:53,375 --> 00:20:55,667 And this young man who goes by the name Dutch wins. 458 00:20:55,667 --> 00:20:59,250 And so they fly him out to California 459 00:20:59,250 --> 00:21:02,208 to watch the Cubs at their spring training. 460 00:21:02,208 --> 00:21:04,042 And while he's on California, he figures, 461 00:21:04,042 --> 00:21:08,125 hey, let me go do a screen test for Warner Brothers. 462 00:21:08,125 --> 00:21:11,792 That person named Dutch is Ronald Reagan, 463 00:21:11,792 --> 00:21:15,208 who goes on to become a movie actor 464 00:21:15,208 --> 00:21:18,500 and eventually one of our American presidents. 465 00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:20,583 - [Narrator] But while Kellogg's and General Mills 466 00:21:20,583 --> 00:21:24,333 battle each other, the rest of the nation is struggling, 467 00:21:24,333 --> 00:21:26,917 enduring the worst economic depression 468 00:21:26,917 --> 00:21:28,583 in its history. - During the Great Depression, 469 00:21:28,583 --> 00:21:30,708 thousands of businesses fold. 470 00:21:30,708 --> 00:21:32,542 One in four Americans are unemployed 471 00:21:32,542 --> 00:21:35,375 and people are really struggling to put food on the table. 472 00:21:35,375 --> 00:21:38,500 - It's really difficult to get proper nutrition 473 00:21:38,500 --> 00:21:41,208 when food is scarce and when it's stretched 474 00:21:41,208 --> 00:21:43,542 with fillers like cornmeal and breadcrumbs. 475 00:21:43,542 --> 00:21:45,917 - [Narrator] And cities see a sudden rise 476 00:21:45,917 --> 00:21:49,833 in debilitating diseases like pellagra and rickets. 477 00:21:49,833 --> 00:21:53,583 - Rickets cause deformed bones, particularly in the legs. 478 00:21:53,583 --> 00:21:57,250 Bow-legged children was a common occurrence at that time. 479 00:21:57,250 --> 00:22:00,208 Pellagra is a disease that attacks your skin. 480 00:22:00,208 --> 00:22:02,625 So you get lesions on your skin. 481 00:22:02,625 --> 00:22:04,667 It can ultimately lead to death. 482 00:22:05,750 --> 00:22:07,375 - [Narrator] But a monumental discovery 483 00:22:07,375 --> 00:22:11,500 will transform breakfast and the health of Americans, 484 00:22:11,500 --> 00:22:14,292 with Bell and Kellogg leading the charge. 485 00:22:20,542 --> 00:22:23,875 - [Narrator] By the mid 1930s, with the Great Depression 486 00:22:23,875 --> 00:22:27,875 in full swing, access to healthy foods for many is limited, 487 00:22:27,875 --> 00:22:31,542 causing a rise in diseases like rickets and pellagra. 488 00:22:31,542 --> 00:22:32,125 - So these were incredibly serious diseases 489 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,542 that were disabling and, in some cases, killing people 490 00:22:35,542 --> 00:22:37,708 who weren't getting the nutrients they needed. 491 00:22:37,708 --> 00:22:39,708 - [Narrator] The culprit is a diet lacking 492 00:22:39,708 --> 00:22:43,917 in a kind of nutrient only recently identified, vitamins. 493 00:22:45,333 --> 00:22:50,042 - It seems shocking, but vitamins A, B, C, and D 494 00:22:50,042 --> 00:22:53,875 were all discovered between 1910 and the 1940s. 495 00:22:53,875 --> 00:22:56,708 - Scientists start to realize that pellagra is caused 496 00:22:56,708 --> 00:22:58,833 by a deficiency in vitamin B 497 00:22:58,833 --> 00:23:01,792 and rickets by a deficiency in vitamin D. 498 00:23:01,792 --> 00:23:04,125 - [Narrator] In an effort to eradicate rickets, 499 00:23:04,125 --> 00:23:05,875 scientists across the country 500 00:23:05,875 --> 00:23:09,708 raced to develop and patent methods of fortifying milk 501 00:23:09,708 --> 00:23:10,875 with vitamin D. 502 00:23:10,875 --> 00:23:13,042 - Milk was chosen as the ideal food to fortify 503 00:23:13,042 --> 00:23:16,083 because it was cheap, it was readily available, 504 00:23:16,083 --> 00:23:17,708 and it was already enjoyed 505 00:23:17,708 --> 00:23:19,875 by millions of children nationwide. 506 00:23:19,875 --> 00:23:22,542 - A team in Chicago actually patents a process 507 00:23:22,542 --> 00:23:24,375 using an electrical charge, 508 00:23:24,375 --> 00:23:27,917 which turns fungal cells in milk into vitamin D. 509 00:23:28,750 --> 00:23:30,083 - [Narrator] And James Ford Bell, 510 00:23:30,083 --> 00:23:31,792 president of General Mills, 511 00:23:31,792 --> 00:23:34,292 wants to get a piece of the action. 512 00:23:34,292 --> 00:23:35,625 - Bell figures there's no reason 513 00:23:35,625 --> 00:23:37,667 to mess with the Wheaties brand. 514 00:23:37,667 --> 00:23:39,417 I mean, it's a gold mine. 515 00:23:39,417 --> 00:23:41,042 So why not create something new? 516 00:23:41,042 --> 00:23:44,375 - [Narrator] And he surveys the public for inspiration. 517 00:23:44,375 --> 00:23:46,208 - All right, I'll have to call you back. 518 00:23:46,208 --> 00:23:47,417 No, Don just walked in. 519 00:23:47,417 --> 00:23:50,375 [receiver hits cradle] 520 00:23:50,375 --> 00:23:52,042 - [Don] The market research you asked for. 521 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,875 - Bell conducts a study to find out 522 00:23:55,875 --> 00:23:57,625 what the public thinks about cereal 523 00:23:57,625 --> 00:23:59,667 and what it wants from the product in the future. 524 00:23:59,667 --> 00:24:01,542 He's looking for clues on how to improve 525 00:24:01,542 --> 00:24:04,042 an already popular product. 526 00:24:04,042 --> 00:24:06,792 - There is one complaint that kept popping up. 527 00:24:07,875 --> 00:24:09,667 They want a cereal that doesn't get soggy. 528 00:24:09,667 --> 00:24:11,167 - All cereals get soggy. 529 00:24:12,625 --> 00:24:16,917 - Well, not all cereals. 530 00:24:16,917 --> 00:24:18,875 - [Narrator] A turn of the century invention 531 00:24:18,875 --> 00:24:22,292 may be the key to creating a new type of cereal 532 00:24:22,292 --> 00:24:24,042 that can be fortified 533 00:24:24,042 --> 00:24:25,750 and won't get soggy. 534 00:24:25,750 --> 00:24:28,542 - There is a botanist named Alexander Anderson. 535 00:24:28,542 --> 00:24:30,542 He has something called a puffing gun, 536 00:24:30,542 --> 00:24:32,208 which is something that he's using 537 00:24:32,208 --> 00:24:34,000 in experiments with grain. 538 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,542 - Now he's got these sealed test tubes with wheat flour, 539 00:24:37,542 --> 00:24:39,917 and he's putting them into this vacuum-sealed chamber 540 00:24:39,917 --> 00:24:42,208 and heating them up to 500 degrees. 541 00:24:42,208 --> 00:24:45,042 And he realizes when he hits that chamber with a hammer, 542 00:24:45,042 --> 00:24:47,125 the fluid that's in there like explodes out. 543 00:24:47,125 --> 00:24:49,875 And what you get is this really interesting result. 544 00:24:49,875 --> 00:24:53,583 You get this very nicely textured piece of puffed wheat. 545 00:24:53,583 --> 00:24:56,750 - So General Mills said, that's it, 546 00:24:56,750 --> 00:24:58,875 that is how we make a cereal 547 00:24:58,875 --> 00:25:01,875 that's going to be impervious to the sog. 548 00:25:01,875 --> 00:25:05,417 Let's make a cereal that's gonna retain its texture 549 00:25:05,417 --> 00:25:08,375 even if it's in any kind of milk. 550 00:25:08,375 --> 00:25:10,250 - [Narrator] General Mills' engineers 551 00:25:10,250 --> 00:25:13,083 and physicists design and construct 552 00:25:13,083 --> 00:25:14,375 a puffing gun of their own. 553 00:25:14,375 --> 00:25:15,750 - So General Mills 554 00:25:15,750 --> 00:25:18,000 starts to develop a product with corn, 555 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:19,042 but they're not doing it 556 00:25:19,042 --> 00:25:21,583 in sort of the traditional staid way 557 00:25:21,583 --> 00:25:23,500 that everybody else has been doing it before. 558 00:25:23,500 --> 00:25:25,667 They're just trying to keep it more interesting, 559 00:25:25,667 --> 00:25:27,083 you know, a little more cutting edge. 560 00:25:27,083 --> 00:25:29,500 - If they can pull it off, Bell is hoping 561 00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:31,875 that a vitamin-fortified puffed corn cereal 562 00:25:31,875 --> 00:25:33,833 is gonna be their next big hit. 563 00:25:33,833 --> 00:25:36,083 - [Narrator] But the puffing gun technology 564 00:25:36,083 --> 00:25:37,375 is potentially dangerous. 565 00:25:37,375 --> 00:25:38,917 For the puffing gun to work, 566 00:25:38,917 --> 00:25:43,292 it requires a vacuum-sealed chamber and a violent explosion. 567 00:25:43,292 --> 00:25:45,292 - You might wanna stand back. 568 00:25:45,292 --> 00:25:47,917 [upbeat music] 569 00:25:52,125 --> 00:25:54,292 [suspenseful music] 570 00:26:00,208 --> 00:26:01,542 [rhythmic music] 571 00:26:01,542 --> 00:26:03,292 - [Narrator] In 1937, engineers at General Mills 572 00:26:03,292 --> 00:26:05,792 develop an experimental puffing gun. 573 00:26:07,208 --> 00:26:08,667 - You might wanna stand back. 574 00:26:10,208 --> 00:26:12,833 - [Narrator] Attempting to invent a new type of cereal 575 00:26:12,833 --> 00:26:15,042 unlike anything they've ever done before. 576 00:26:18,042 --> 00:26:20,792 [hammer clanging] 577 00:26:23,333 --> 00:26:27,500 - So they take cornmeal and they essentially fire it 578 00:26:27,500 --> 00:26:29,375 out of a cannon. 579 00:26:29,375 --> 00:26:30,083 - Did it work? 580 00:26:31,500 --> 00:26:32,542 - You tell me. 581 00:26:39,417 --> 00:26:42,000 [exuberant music] 582 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,042 - He gets this very nicely textured piece of puffed corn, 583 00:26:45,042 --> 00:26:47,125 and it's something no one's ever done before. 584 00:26:47,125 --> 00:26:48,708 And it's pretty amazing. 585 00:26:50,375 --> 00:26:53,958 - [Narrator] The result is corn cereal reimagined. 586 00:26:53,958 --> 00:26:57,500 - The puffing gun created a whole different category. 587 00:26:57,500 --> 00:27:01,125 You had spheres that were crispy 588 00:27:01,125 --> 00:27:03,667 and just totally changed the cereal game. 589 00:27:03,667 --> 00:27:05,375 - [Narrator] They then sprayed the puffed corn 590 00:27:05,375 --> 00:27:09,542 with a lightly sweetened mixture of vitamins B and D, 591 00:27:09,542 --> 00:27:12,792 creating the first vitamin-fortified cereal, 592 00:27:12,792 --> 00:27:15,042 with a name that packs a punch. 593 00:27:15,042 --> 00:27:17,083 - General Mills names the cereal Kix 594 00:27:17,083 --> 00:27:20,083 because it wasn't just like any regular cereal. 595 00:27:20,083 --> 00:27:23,125 It had a boost of vitamins, which means it had a kick to it. 596 00:27:23,125 --> 00:27:25,875 - Even if you look at the nomenclature, 597 00:27:25,875 --> 00:27:27,750 the naming of the cereals, 598 00:27:27,750 --> 00:27:30,125 it was all about the grain and the healthfulness. 599 00:27:30,125 --> 00:27:34,542 So it was Rice Krispies, and Corn Flakes, and Wheaties. 600 00:27:34,542 --> 00:27:35,833 - So it has a fun name, 601 00:27:35,833 --> 00:27:37,958 but unlike most cereals at the time, 602 00:27:37,958 --> 00:27:39,958 which took their name from their ingredients. 603 00:27:39,958 --> 00:27:41,833 If you introduce a cereal called Kix, 604 00:27:41,833 --> 00:27:43,875 that's a little risky, right? 605 00:27:43,875 --> 00:27:47,750 - [Narrator] In 1937, General Mills debuts Kix, 606 00:27:47,750 --> 00:27:50,375 with an ad campaign declaring their new cereal 607 00:27:50,375 --> 00:27:53,667 is taking America by storm. 608 00:27:53,667 --> 00:27:56,042 - In their advertising, General Mills says 609 00:27:56,042 --> 00:27:57,958 that their cereal will be much better for you 610 00:27:57,958 --> 00:28:00,542 than another well-known corn cereal, 611 00:28:00,542 --> 00:28:03,583 which of course is Corn Flakes. 612 00:28:03,583 --> 00:28:04,958 - [Narrator] And for the first time, 613 00:28:04,958 --> 00:28:07,833 Will Kellogg begins to see General Mills 614 00:28:07,833 --> 00:28:10,042 as a formidable threat. 615 00:28:10,042 --> 00:28:12,250 - At this point, Kellogg's is truly dominating 616 00:28:12,250 --> 00:28:13,792 the cereal industry, 617 00:28:13,792 --> 00:28:16,292 and then suddenly General Mills comes out of nowhere, 618 00:28:16,292 --> 00:28:17,875 with their Wheaties and Kix, 619 00:28:17,875 --> 00:28:20,458 and start stealing huge market share from them. 620 00:28:20,458 --> 00:28:23,250 Obviously, if you're Kellogg's, you are worried. 621 00:28:23,250 --> 00:28:25,250 - [Narrator] Determined to compete with Kix, 622 00:28:25,250 --> 00:28:28,292 Kellogg fast tracks a vitamin-fortified version 623 00:28:28,292 --> 00:28:33,125 of his Pep Flakes, releasing it just months later in 1938. 624 00:28:34,250 --> 00:28:37,042 Soon after, the American Medical Association 625 00:28:37,042 --> 00:28:40,375 endorses the addition of vitamins into foods. 626 00:28:40,375 --> 00:28:43,208 - And it becomes commonplace in America for B vitamins 627 00:28:43,208 --> 00:28:46,208 to be be added into grains, D into milk, 628 00:28:46,208 --> 00:28:48,625 and iodine into salt. 629 00:28:48,625 --> 00:28:50,042 - [Narrator] And once common diseases 630 00:28:50,042 --> 00:28:54,208 like pellagra and rickets soon begin to disappear. 631 00:28:55,208 --> 00:28:56,833 - Maybe kids still weren't getting 632 00:28:56,833 --> 00:28:58,542 enough fruits and vegetables, 633 00:28:58,542 --> 00:29:00,583 but because of this fortification, 634 00:29:00,583 --> 00:29:01,833 now they weren't getting these diseases 635 00:29:01,833 --> 00:29:02,917 because they were at least getting enough 636 00:29:02,917 --> 00:29:04,750 of those vitamins and minerals 637 00:29:04,750 --> 00:29:06,792 because they're eating their cereal every morning. 638 00:29:06,792 --> 00:29:09,708 - The thing I think that vitamin fortification 639 00:29:09,708 --> 00:29:12,625 does for American health 640 00:29:12,625 --> 00:29:16,542 is it really allows us to eliminate 641 00:29:16,542 --> 00:29:19,208 a lot of these vitamin deficiencies 642 00:29:19,208 --> 00:29:23,500 in a way that's pretty accessible for ordinary people. 643 00:29:23,500 --> 00:29:26,042 And even today, 644 00:29:26,042 --> 00:29:30,208 cereal is one of the most common sources 645 00:29:30,208 --> 00:29:33,375 of vitamins for ordinary Americans. 646 00:29:33,375 --> 00:29:36,917 - [Narrator] By 1941, sales of Kix are booming, 647 00:29:36,917 --> 00:29:39,417 earning James Bell another promotion, 648 00:29:39,417 --> 00:29:40,958 this time to chairman. 649 00:29:42,167 --> 00:29:44,792 Succeeding him as president is his top lieutenant, 650 00:29:44,792 --> 00:29:48,292 Donald Davis, who's determined to make his mark 651 00:29:48,292 --> 00:29:51,875 by spearheading his own groundbreaking new cereal. 652 00:29:51,875 --> 00:29:54,083 - Donald Davis has been in Bell's shadow 653 00:29:54,083 --> 00:29:56,375 throughout the creation of Wheaties and Kix. 654 00:29:56,375 --> 00:29:58,333 And so he wants something that'll create 655 00:29:58,333 --> 00:30:00,417 his own legacy in the cereal industry. 656 00:30:04,583 --> 00:30:07,083 [footsteps on stairs] 657 00:30:07,083 --> 00:30:09,167 - Everyone loves oatmeal, 658 00:30:09,167 --> 00:30:11,917 but no one has figured out how to serve it cold. 659 00:30:13,083 --> 00:30:15,333 - [Narrator] Hot oats, or oatmeal, 660 00:30:15,333 --> 00:30:18,792 has been enjoyed by Americans since 1877. 661 00:30:19,958 --> 00:30:23,250 By 1941, Quaker Oats is making an average 662 00:30:23,250 --> 00:30:26,958 of $15 million a year with a cereal you make 663 00:30:26,958 --> 00:30:29,375 by simply adding boiling water. 664 00:30:29,375 --> 00:30:31,917 - People were perfectly content with hot oatmeal. 665 00:30:31,917 --> 00:30:34,292 It was super successful. 666 00:30:34,292 --> 00:30:36,667 And, you know, at the time, making it cold, 667 00:30:36,667 --> 00:30:37,750 that was pretty weird. 668 00:30:37,750 --> 00:30:39,042 It's crazy. 669 00:30:39,042 --> 00:30:40,375 - But that puffing gun that they had 670 00:30:40,375 --> 00:30:42,917 brought about new ideas and opportunities. 671 00:30:42,917 --> 00:30:44,167 - [Narrator] The team experiments 672 00:30:44,167 --> 00:30:48,042 with over 500 different puffed oat recipes. 673 00:30:48,042 --> 00:30:50,500 - So the recipe that they landed on was really simple. 674 00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:53,375 It was oats, water, and a little bit of sugar. 675 00:30:53,375 --> 00:30:56,250 - They just needed to decide on a shape. 676 00:30:56,250 --> 00:30:57,750 They don't want it to be confused with Kix 677 00:30:57,750 --> 00:30:59,417 and that unique sphere, 678 00:30:59,417 --> 00:31:01,833 so they needed to come up with a new shape. 679 00:31:01,833 --> 00:31:03,542 - They tried a bunch of different ones, 680 00:31:03,542 --> 00:31:07,042 squares, stars, dumbbells, 681 00:31:07,042 --> 00:31:11,000 until they finally landed on the O. 682 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:12,708 - The O shape worked perfectly 683 00:31:12,708 --> 00:31:14,500 because it didn't get as crushed 684 00:31:14,500 --> 00:31:16,583 when you put it in packaging for shipping 685 00:31:16,583 --> 00:31:18,792 and it still had a unique shape. 686 00:31:18,792 --> 00:31:23,375 - The first ready-to-eat, puffed oat cereal, 687 00:31:24,417 --> 00:31:25,250 - You got a name? 688 00:31:26,292 --> 00:31:27,958 - [Narrator] The cold oat cereal 689 00:31:27,958 --> 00:31:30,667 known for its iconic O shape 690 00:31:30,667 --> 00:31:32,208 will one day become 691 00:31:32,208 --> 00:31:34,833 the bestselling cereal brand in America. 692 00:31:36,875 --> 00:31:38,125 - CheeriOats. 693 00:31:44,167 --> 00:31:48,542 - [Narrator] On May 1st, 1941 General Mills' CheeriOats 694 00:31:49,667 --> 00:31:52,375 debuts as the first ready-to-eat puffed oat cereal. 695 00:31:52,375 --> 00:31:55,042 - CheeriOats has a musical sound to it. 696 00:31:55,042 --> 00:31:58,750 - General Mills decided to name the cereal CheeriOats. 697 00:31:58,750 --> 00:32:01,792 CheeriOats, it's both food and fun. 698 00:32:01,792 --> 00:32:03,208 - [Narrator] In its first year alone, 699 00:32:03,208 --> 00:32:07,375 CheeriOats sells over 21 million boxes. 700 00:32:07,375 --> 00:32:09,917 - Who would've thought that a cold oat cereal 701 00:32:09,917 --> 00:32:11,542 would be the mega hit that it was? 702 00:32:11,542 --> 00:32:13,917 Now you didn't have to spend half an hour 703 00:32:13,917 --> 00:32:15,625 laboring over the stove cooking oatmeal. 704 00:32:15,625 --> 00:32:16,958 It's ready-to-eat. 705 00:32:16,958 --> 00:32:19,542 And just like Kix, it's vitamin-fortified. 706 00:32:19,542 --> 00:32:22,042 - [Narrator] And along with Wheaties and Kix, 707 00:32:22,042 --> 00:32:25,083 the success of CheeriOats further weakens Kellogg's grip 708 00:32:25,083 --> 00:32:27,042 on the cereal market. 709 00:32:27,042 --> 00:32:28,875 But victory is short-lived. 710 00:32:28,875 --> 00:32:30,000 - [Radio announcer] We interrupt this program 711 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,667 to bring you a special news bulletin. 712 00:32:31,667 --> 00:32:34,833 The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by air, 713 00:32:34,833 --> 00:32:36,583 President Roosevelt has just announced. 714 00:32:37,750 --> 00:32:39,208 - [Narrator] Just six months later, 715 00:32:39,208 --> 00:32:43,375 in December of 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 716 00:32:43,375 --> 00:32:46,917 forces the United States to join World War II. 717 00:32:48,250 --> 00:32:50,625 Under orders from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 718 00:32:50,625 --> 00:32:54,208 many resources are diverted to the front lines, 719 00:32:54,208 --> 00:32:59,167 including metal, paper, rubber, and food. 720 00:32:59,167 --> 00:33:01,542 - During World War II, the United States government 721 00:33:01,542 --> 00:33:03,208 started to ration food. 722 00:33:03,208 --> 00:33:05,875 So now there were limits on how many eggs, 723 00:33:05,875 --> 00:33:08,708 and milk, and beef, and fish, and poultry 724 00:33:08,708 --> 00:33:10,250 Americans could purchase. 725 00:33:10,250 --> 00:33:13,625 - The big food manufacturers leveraged all of their resources 726 00:33:13,625 --> 00:33:14,875 to help feed the war machine. 727 00:33:14,875 --> 00:33:17,375 Hershey's, Heinz, Mars, Coca-Cola, 728 00:33:17,375 --> 00:33:19,708 they all shipped their products to the frontline, 729 00:33:19,708 --> 00:33:21,250 to soldiers in the trenches. 730 00:33:21,250 --> 00:33:22,625 - [Narrator] Kellogg's repurposes 731 00:33:22,625 --> 00:33:25,708 their massive cereal plants for the war effort 732 00:33:25,708 --> 00:33:29,458 and produces much needed rations for soldiers overseas. 733 00:33:29,458 --> 00:33:33,208 - Kellogg's sends 43 million packages 734 00:33:33,208 --> 00:33:36,792 of daily food combat rations for the US Army. 735 00:33:36,792 --> 00:33:39,458 - [Narrator] General Mills also joins the fight, 736 00:33:39,458 --> 00:33:42,208 building precision weaponry for the military, 737 00:33:42,208 --> 00:33:44,250 including the Jitterbug torpedo for the navy. 738 00:33:44,250 --> 00:33:47,875 - It's the first torpedo that can make a U-turn, 739 00:33:47,875 --> 00:33:49,875 and a cereal company created that. 740 00:33:49,875 --> 00:33:51,458 That's really incredible. 741 00:33:51,458 --> 00:33:54,042 - [Narrator] And they produced army rations 742 00:33:54,042 --> 00:33:55,625 with their latest product. 743 00:33:55,625 --> 00:33:58,167 - CheeriOats' unique round shape is actually very useful 744 00:33:58,167 --> 00:33:59,583 to the US Army. 745 00:33:59,583 --> 00:34:02,542 Most of the food products break during shipping, 746 00:34:02,542 --> 00:34:05,917 but not these, and the army used them for rations. 747 00:34:05,917 --> 00:34:07,125 - [Narrator] Thanks to Kellogg's 748 00:34:07,125 --> 00:34:09,500 and General Mills' efforts, among others, 749 00:34:09,500 --> 00:34:13,333 the United States earns a reputation in the trenches 750 00:34:13,333 --> 00:34:15,667 as the world's best-fed army. 751 00:34:17,042 --> 00:34:20,042 And on September 2nd, 1945, 752 00:34:20,042 --> 00:34:22,417 World War II finally comes to an end. 753 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,708 But General Mills is about to become embroiled 754 00:34:26,708 --> 00:34:27,875 in a new battle. 755 00:34:27,875 --> 00:34:30,708 [rhythmic music] 756 00:34:34,875 --> 00:34:37,292 [letter crinkling] 757 00:34:38,167 --> 00:34:39,083 - What is this? 758 00:34:39,083 --> 00:34:40,583 - It's a cease and desist. 759 00:34:42,083 --> 00:34:44,708 We're being sued by Quaker Oats. 760 00:34:46,083 --> 00:34:47,542 - [Narrator] The Quaker Oats company is asserting 761 00:34:47,542 --> 00:34:51,500 that it holds commercial rights to the word oats. 762 00:34:51,500 --> 00:34:53,958 - Quaker felt it was an infringement on their brand, 763 00:34:53,958 --> 00:34:55,792 which is a pretty wild claim 764 00:34:55,792 --> 00:34:58,250 considering that oats are part of the recipe. 765 00:34:58,250 --> 00:35:00,292 - Quaker had to be jealous of General Mills. 766 00:35:00,292 --> 00:35:03,083 They've released a successful cereal using oats, 767 00:35:03,083 --> 00:35:05,458 which is Quaker's bread and butter. 768 00:35:05,458 --> 00:35:08,125 - [Narrator] And General Mills' Chairman James Ford Bell 769 00:35:08,125 --> 00:35:10,458 is forced to make a difficult decision. 770 00:35:11,708 --> 00:35:13,792 - He can either fight a costly legal battle 771 00:35:13,792 --> 00:35:16,542 to keep the name or he can just change the name 772 00:35:16,542 --> 00:35:18,833 and lose all the brand recognition 773 00:35:18,833 --> 00:35:20,292 he's gained over the war. 774 00:35:20,292 --> 00:35:21,542 - [Narrator] In a risky move, 775 00:35:21,542 --> 00:35:24,333 Bell decides to rename the brand. 776 00:35:24,333 --> 00:35:26,667 - So instead of trying to fight it, 777 00:35:26,667 --> 00:35:31,208 General Mills decides to just drop the oats part of it. 778 00:35:31,208 --> 00:35:32,708 ♪ Cheerios 779 00:35:32,708 --> 00:35:35,042 - [Announcer] Yes, Cheerios, the cereal 780 00:35:35,042 --> 00:35:37,375 that's shaped like a little letter O. 781 00:35:37,375 --> 00:35:39,208 - It had a little disclaimer in the box that just said, 782 00:35:39,208 --> 00:35:40,417 formerly known as CheeriOats. 783 00:35:40,417 --> 00:35:43,000 It's very simple, very elegant, 784 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:44,625 got the message across to consumers. 785 00:35:44,625 --> 00:35:46,333 There was no confusion. 786 00:35:46,333 --> 00:35:48,500 - [Narrator] Sales soar under the new name, 787 00:35:49,833 --> 00:35:52,542 climbing past Kix and Wheaties 788 00:35:52,542 --> 00:35:55,583 to become General Mills' best-selling cereal. 789 00:35:55,583 --> 00:35:58,000 And for the first time, Kellogg's Corn Flakes 790 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:00,917 is dethroned as the number one cereal 791 00:36:00,917 --> 00:36:02,750 in America by Cheerios. 792 00:36:03,250 --> 00:36:05,375 - Will Kellogg was the king of cereal. 793 00:36:05,375 --> 00:36:08,542 And to lose that title must have been infuriating. 794 00:36:09,833 --> 00:36:11,875 [cereal box banging] 795 00:36:16,208 --> 00:36:17,542 [rhythmic music] 796 00:36:17,542 --> 00:36:19,375 - [Narrator] In 1951, after decades on top, 797 00:36:19,375 --> 00:36:21,375 Will Kellogg's Corn Flakes 798 00:36:21,375 --> 00:36:24,250 has been dethroned by General Mills' Cheerios. 799 00:36:24,250 --> 00:36:27,292 But Kellogg sees a path to redemption 800 00:36:27,292 --> 00:36:29,917 that will change the face of cereal. 801 00:36:29,917 --> 00:36:32,000 - It's called the baby boom. 802 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:33,542 After the war, there are a record 803 00:36:33,542 --> 00:36:35,792 4 million babies born every year, 804 00:36:35,792 --> 00:36:39,083 and the kids' market was becoming an untapped gold mine. 805 00:36:39,083 --> 00:36:40,375 - These baby boom kids, 806 00:36:40,375 --> 00:36:41,792 they want sugar this, sugar that. 807 00:36:41,792 --> 00:36:43,375 Sugar is king in the 1950s, 808 00:36:43,375 --> 00:36:44,458 and that's all that they want. 809 00:36:44,458 --> 00:36:45,708 - [Narrator] Thanks in part 810 00:36:45,708 --> 00:36:48,375 to the sugar industry's PR campaign 811 00:36:48,375 --> 00:36:50,667 to portray sugar as healthy. 812 00:36:50,667 --> 00:36:52,958 - Sugar was being marketed and pushed. 813 00:36:52,958 --> 00:36:54,417 It was viewed as a positive thing. 814 00:36:54,417 --> 00:36:57,042 Not only was it a legitimate hook to get kids to eat it 815 00:36:57,042 --> 00:36:58,375 because kids love sweet, 816 00:36:58,375 --> 00:37:00,250 sugar at that time was viewed 817 00:37:00,250 --> 00:37:03,375 as a great way to get kids to be energized. 818 00:37:03,375 --> 00:37:07,958 I mean, the sugar rush was seen as a good thing 819 00:37:07,958 --> 00:37:09,250 in the 1950s. 820 00:37:09,250 --> 00:37:11,375 - You can't underestimate the irony 821 00:37:11,375 --> 00:37:14,583 that cereal started out as a health food, 822 00:37:14,583 --> 00:37:17,333 something that was supposed to make you strong, 823 00:37:17,333 --> 00:37:21,542 and vigorous, and athletic, and also regular. 824 00:37:21,542 --> 00:37:23,500 And then, next thing you know, 825 00:37:23,500 --> 00:37:25,708 all we're looking down the barrel of is 826 00:37:25,708 --> 00:37:26,625 sugar, sugar, sugar. 827 00:37:26,625 --> 00:37:27,875 - [Narrator] In a desperate move 828 00:37:27,875 --> 00:37:30,375 to outmaneuver James Ford Bell, 829 00:37:30,375 --> 00:37:34,083 Will Kellogg begins reformulating the very recipe 830 00:37:34,083 --> 00:37:35,875 that made him the king of cereal. 831 00:37:35,875 --> 00:37:37,500 - Will Kellogg thought that 832 00:37:37,500 --> 00:37:39,417 by adding sugar to Corn Flakes 833 00:37:39,417 --> 00:37:40,958 their original product, 834 00:37:40,958 --> 00:37:45,042 their flagship brand, was a way to interest kids. 835 00:37:45,042 --> 00:37:46,417 And this would be a way 836 00:37:46,417 --> 00:37:48,708 to finally bring Cheerios down a peg 837 00:37:48,708 --> 00:37:51,208 and become the number one cereal once again. 838 00:37:51,208 --> 00:37:54,042 - [Narrator] Kellogg adds a thick sugary glaze 839 00:37:54,042 --> 00:37:56,292 onto his iconic Corn Flakes. 840 00:37:56,292 --> 00:37:57,792 - Kellogg's Corn Flakes 841 00:37:57,792 --> 00:37:59,292 was one of the most popular cereals in America, 842 00:37:59,292 --> 00:38:01,167 had been for decades. 843 00:38:01,167 --> 00:38:04,125 And introducing a sugared version of that 844 00:38:04,125 --> 00:38:06,708 is a potentially risky move 845 00:38:06,708 --> 00:38:08,708 and harming all that you've built. 846 00:38:08,708 --> 00:38:11,375 It's not dissimilar to introducing New Coke 847 00:38:11,375 --> 00:38:14,042 when everyone loves the old Coke that you had, right? 848 00:38:14,042 --> 00:38:18,208 - [Narrator] But Kellogg never sees his gamble pay off. 849 00:38:18,208 --> 00:38:21,708 On October 6th, 1951, Will Kellogg passes away 850 00:38:21,708 --> 00:38:24,917 in his hometown of Battle Creek, Michigan. 851 00:38:24,917 --> 00:38:25,542 - Will Kellogg was known 852 00:38:25,542 --> 00:38:27,583 as the King of Breakfast. 853 00:38:27,583 --> 00:38:31,458 And his legacy on how we eat breakfast today 854 00:38:31,458 --> 00:38:33,708 is really mind boggling. 855 00:38:33,708 --> 00:38:36,083 - To this day, millions of Americans 856 00:38:36,083 --> 00:38:38,542 still start their day with one of his products. 857 00:38:40,667 --> 00:38:42,250 - [Narrator] The year after his death, 858 00:38:42,250 --> 00:38:45,208 Kellogg's sugar-coated cereal hits the market 859 00:38:45,208 --> 00:38:48,750 with the word sugar directly in the name. 860 00:38:48,750 --> 00:38:53,375 - Sugar Frosted Flakes, there is nothing subtle about it. 861 00:38:53,375 --> 00:38:55,833 But now that vitamin-enriched cereals 862 00:38:55,833 --> 00:38:59,417 have nearly eradicated most nutritional diseases, 863 00:38:59,417 --> 00:39:03,417 Kellogg is convinced that sugar is the next frontier. 864 00:39:03,417 --> 00:39:06,042 - [Narrator] To target kids, Kellogg's ad agency 865 00:39:06,042 --> 00:39:07,708 creates a cartoon character 866 00:39:07,708 --> 00:39:12,458 to appear in America's hottest new medium, television. 867 00:39:12,458 --> 00:39:15,792 - [Tony the Tiger] Sugar Frosted Flakes are great. 868 00:39:15,792 --> 00:39:18,417 - [Narrator] His name is Tony the Tiger. 869 00:39:18,417 --> 00:39:21,375 - They have another mascot to go along 870 00:39:21,375 --> 00:39:22,958 with Snap, Crackle, and Pop. 871 00:39:22,958 --> 00:39:24,625 They invent Tony the Tiger. 872 00:39:24,625 --> 00:39:28,125 "They're great!" is the slogan they use. 873 00:39:28,125 --> 00:39:32,208 And they are really marketing directly toward children 874 00:39:32,208 --> 00:39:33,625 with these mascots. 875 00:39:33,625 --> 00:39:35,000 - Kellogg's goes all in, 876 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,875 spending over a hundred million dollars on TV ads. 877 00:39:37,875 --> 00:39:39,500 That's more than a billion dollars today. 878 00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:42,542 - Since the '50s, you've got 20 million American kids 879 00:39:42,542 --> 00:39:45,500 watching "Howdy Doody," all these cartoons. 880 00:39:45,500 --> 00:39:47,708 It was a brilliant piece of marketing. 881 00:39:47,708 --> 00:39:50,542 - [Narrator] In 1952, Sugar Frosted Flakes 882 00:39:50,542 --> 00:39:52,250 flies off the shelves, 883 00:39:52,250 --> 00:39:54,292 but fails to overtake Cheerios 884 00:39:54,292 --> 00:39:56,167 as America's bestselling cereal. 885 00:39:56,167 --> 00:39:59,042 - Will Kellogg is a super successful entrepreneur. 886 00:39:59,042 --> 00:40:02,542 However, a lot of entrepreneurs are like athletes, 887 00:40:02,542 --> 00:40:05,833 where sometimes their loss hurts more than their wins. 888 00:40:05,833 --> 00:40:08,792 And losing the title of King of Cereal to Cheerios 889 00:40:08,792 --> 00:40:10,750 is something he was never okay with. 890 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:14,958 - [Narrator] And to add insult to injury, 891 00:40:14,958 --> 00:40:18,375 James Ford Bell has one last trick up his sleeve. 892 00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:21,542 - Bell uses the puffing gun technology 893 00:40:21,542 --> 00:40:23,417 to create a brand new cereal 894 00:40:23,417 --> 00:40:25,417 unlike any other that's out there. 895 00:40:25,417 --> 00:40:28,208 It's the first colorful fruit-flavored cereal. 896 00:40:28,208 --> 00:40:30,917 - So Kellogg's was just adding sugar to cornflakes. 897 00:40:30,917 --> 00:40:33,750 General Mills created a whole new cereal. 898 00:40:35,083 --> 00:40:36,292 - [Narrator] In 1954, 899 00:40:36,292 --> 00:40:39,208 General Mills' eye-catching, sugary cereal 900 00:40:39,208 --> 00:40:41,792 hit store shelves, called Trix. 901 00:40:41,792 --> 00:40:43,750 - It was probably weird at first to see a fruity cereal, 902 00:40:43,750 --> 00:40:46,083 but Trix was exciting because it was colorful, 903 00:40:46,083 --> 00:40:47,542 it smelled like candy, 904 00:40:47,542 --> 00:40:49,708 and it tasted like nothing else on the market. 905 00:40:49,708 --> 00:40:52,042 - [Narrator] And unveils a new cartoon mascot 906 00:40:52,042 --> 00:40:55,792 to rival Tony the Tiger, the Trix Rabbit. 907 00:40:55,792 --> 00:40:58,667 - The first Trix Rabbit appeared on children's programming 908 00:40:58,667 --> 00:41:01,125 like "Rocky and His Friends" and "Captain Kangaroo." 909 00:41:01,125 --> 00:41:04,708 And he was always trying to steal cereal from kids. 910 00:41:04,708 --> 00:41:07,208 - [Boy in commercial] Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids. 911 00:41:07,208 --> 00:41:08,667 - Making it crystal clear 912 00:41:08,667 --> 00:41:10,708 to all the millions of children watching 913 00:41:10,708 --> 00:41:13,042 that this cereal was for them. 914 00:41:13,042 --> 00:41:16,208 - The intense rivalry between Will Kellogg 915 00:41:16,208 --> 00:41:17,542 and James Ford Bell 916 00:41:17,542 --> 00:41:19,792 changes the cereal industry as we know it. 917 00:41:19,792 --> 00:41:23,667 - A tectonic shift in cereal happened 918 00:41:23,667 --> 00:41:25,000 throughout the 1950s, 919 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:29,833 when cereal went from a health product for adults 920 00:41:29,833 --> 00:41:32,708 to new products aimed at kids. 921 00:41:32,708 --> 00:41:34,708 - [Narrator] And Bell and Kellogg's impact 922 00:41:34,708 --> 00:41:38,708 on the American breakfast landscape continues to this day. 923 00:41:38,708 --> 00:41:41,917 - One thing a lot of people from other countries 924 00:41:41,917 --> 00:41:46,458 often comment about the United States is the insane number 925 00:41:46,458 --> 00:41:48,417 of breakfast cereals that are available. 926 00:41:48,417 --> 00:41:52,542 That is in large part due to the competition 927 00:41:52,542 --> 00:41:56,250 that existed between these big companies. 928 00:41:56,250 --> 00:41:57,708 - There's something about cereal 929 00:41:57,708 --> 00:42:01,417 that makes the kid in all of us kind of feel cozy, 930 00:42:01,417 --> 00:42:04,917 and taken care of, and like things are simpler. 931 00:42:04,917 --> 00:42:08,375 - [Narrator] Today, 95% of American children 932 00:42:08,375 --> 00:42:10,667 start their day with a bowl of cereal. 933 00:42:10,667 --> 00:42:12,583 - It's amazing how these cereals 934 00:42:12,583 --> 00:42:14,875 that were invented 70, 80 years ago 935 00:42:14,875 --> 00:42:17,125 are still the best sellers on the market today. 936 00:42:17,125 --> 00:42:19,417 - [Narrator] And while Kellogg's Frosted Flakes 937 00:42:19,417 --> 00:42:23,208 rakes in over $412 million a year, 938 00:42:23,208 --> 00:42:27,750 it still ranks second behind General Mills' Cheerios.