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...came with cups and dishes inside
Remember digging through that cereal box to find the prize at the bottom? Manufacturers and retailers learned long ago that offering free items (called advertising premiums) attracted customers and created brand loyalty. Advertising premiums date back to the late 1700s but became much more popular in the 1900s. Did your grandmother collect an entire set of dishes just by purchasing boxes of oatmeal or soap? We’ve scoured our archives to find fun examples of advertising premiums over the decades.
Kellogg’s was the first cereal to offer an advertising premium when they introduced the Funny Jungleland Moving Picture Book in 1910. Customers could mail in two packages of Corn Flakes and get the book for free.
Beginning in the 1920s, Quaker’s Mother’s Oats ran an advertising campaign where each package of oats contained a piece of china. The promotion proved popular with American families already pinching pennies to survive the Great Depression. With each purchase, customers might find items like a teacup, saucer, 6-inch plate, or an oatmeal bowl inside the box. Quaker’s promotions continued for years, with the company giving away dishes, cookware, and flatware with purchases.
Dishes packaged inside boxes of oats in the 1920s
Continued below.
Kitschy Collectibles and Historical Advertising Premiums - The official blog of Newspapers.com
Remember digging through that cereal box to find the prize at the bottom? Manufacturers and retailers learned long ago that offering free items (called advertising premiums) attracted customers and created brand loyalty. Advertising premiums date back to the late 1700s but became much more popular in the 1900s. Did your grandmother collect an entire set of dishes just by purchasing boxes of oatmeal or soap? We’ve scoured our archives to find fun examples of advertising premiums over the decades.
Kellogg’s was the first cereal to offer an advertising premium when they introduced the Funny Jungleland Moving Picture Book in 1910. Customers could mail in two packages of Corn Flakes and get the book for free.
Beginning in the 1920s, Quaker’s Mother’s Oats ran an advertising campaign where each package of oats contained a piece of china. The promotion proved popular with American families already pinching pennies to survive the Great Depression. With each purchase, customers might find items like a teacup, saucer, 6-inch plate, or an oatmeal bowl inside the box. Quaker’s promotions continued for years, with the company giving away dishes, cookware, and flatware with purchases.
Dishes packaged inside boxes of oats in the 1920s
Continued below.
Kitschy Collectibles and Historical Advertising Premiums - The official blog of Newspapers.com
