Skip to main content

A CLOSER LOOK: The Annette Cheerios Cereal Box

When it comes to Annette cut-out dolls, it's fair to say that among the rarest isn't one of the brightly colored doll books produced by Whitman Publishing for retail markets between 1956 and 1962...but rather an Annette doll offered for free on the back of a cereal box!  In 1958, General Mills included an Annette cut-out doll on the packaging of Cheerios breakfast cereal.  The doll, doll stand and a few outfits and accessories were printed directly on the back and left-hand side panel of the box, ready to test one's scissor skills and provide hours of playtime fun.

While vintage, uncut cereal box panels with the Cheerios doll will surface from time-to-time on the collectors market, surprisingly, the front panel featuring unique and charming artwork of Annette promoting the doll included with purchase was rarely if ever preserved.  Even rarer are complete, fully assembled boxes which are nearly impossible to find today.

Given it's scarcity, I feel especially fortunate to be able to share with you a surviving example of a fully assembled Cheerios box to show exactly how the Annette Cheerios cut-out doll was presented and arrived at homes and family breakfast tables across America over 60 years ago.

Lets take "a closer look"...


 *Click on images to view larger


First, here's a close-up look at the artwork from the front of the Cheerios box showing Mouseketeer Annette holding her own cut-out doll dressed in the western outfit - one of three outfit options included on the box.



At the same time General Mills was offering the free Annette doll for girls, the right-hand side panel of the box promoted an alternate option on Cheerios boxes for boys - a free cut-out basketball game!  Below that, ingredients and dietary information for the cereal are listed.



Here's the back panel of the box featuring the Annette doll, doll stand, western outfit and hat and a belted dress and bag, in addition to the following instructions: 

Here's how to have fun with your Annette doll.  Carefully cut out the doll and all the costumes and accessories. Leave the tabs on the dresses.  Attach stand "A" to the doll by placing it across the cut out slit at Annette's feet and pushing up.  Then dress the doll.  Flowers, bag or card fit into the cut out slit in Annette's left hand.  Western hat fits over her head after you cut open the dotted slit.  Dresses fit on when the tabs are folded around back.  You can get Whitman's new Annette Cutout Doll Book now at your favorite store - only 29 cents. 



Moving on to the left-hand side of the box, we find the third and most iconic outfit of all - Annette's Mouseketeer outfit.  This panel featuring the instantly recognizable sweater, pleated skirt and mouse ears also included a couple additional doll accessories: a bouquet of flowers and greeting card.



While the top of the box didn't exhibit any special graphics promoting the free Annette doll on the box...



...the bottom of the box did!!



Here's the back and left-hand side panels from an unused and never assembled Annette Cheerios box.  Notice that the bottom box flap with the Annette doll wording and the top flap with the perforated pull strip are still intact.  Sadly, even this new old stock cereal box is missing the front box panel with the additional Annette art carefully removed at a time when it was thought the doll set itself was the only thing worthy of preservation.



The doll on the Cheerios box is of the same design as this one (pictured in blue) from Annette's very first cut-out doll book, Walt Disney's Mouseketeer Annette, released by Whitman Publishing in 1956.  While the size, outfit color and some details differ, the silhouette is identical.  

Speaking of size...cereal boxes were much smaller in the '50s than they are today.  Cheerios was sold in 7 oz. boxes measuring 9.5'' H X 6.75" W X 3'' D.



Always proud to showcase relics from her career around the house, in the early '90s, Annette began displaying a set of Cheerios cut-out dolls on the wall adjacent her own kitchen table (pictured above on the wall behind her husband, Glen).  Matted in blue and framed in gold, the doll set escaped the 2011 house fire and was proudly displayed among other surviving keepsakes in her new home near Bakersfield for the remainder of her days. 


Comments

  1. FrankMay 30, 2020 at 12:15 PM

    Very interesting! Something else to look for.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 11, 2022 at 7:24 AM

    I somehow missed this collectible!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Annette Funicello: Tributes from Fans and Friends

It's simply not often enough that I have the opportunity to alert our readers of a brand new Annette related product, but finally, the long dry spell between such releases has come to an end with the book, Annette Funicello: Tributes from Fans and Friends . Rita Rose, former president of Annette's international fan club, has compiled the personal memories and reflections of over forty individuals who are related to, have met, worked with or befriended this most likable star.  While Annette is famously remembered for being the same person in her daily life as she appears on screen, this book takes you deeper and reveals some of the lesser known dimensions of her character and personality.  Find out what it was like to encounter Annette as a fan, to be a guest in her home, to collaborate with her in the recording studio and attend to her on-set or on one of her early promotional tours in the '60s.  Some share how they first learned and reacted to the news of Annette...
3 comments
Read more

In Remembrance: Glen Dale Holt 1930 - 2018

In Remembrance GLEN DALE HOLT December 19, 1930 – February 12, 2018 We are saddened to report the passing of Glen Holt from complications resulting from a recent respiratory illness. Mr. Holt died on Monday evening, February 12 at a local hospital with his family at his side. As Chairman of The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases, Glen faithfully led the work begun in 1993 by he and his late wife, Annette Funicello Holt, who died in April 2013. On behalf of our Board of Directors we extend our deepest sympathies to Glen’s family and to a lifetime of friends in the cities of Shafter, Bakersfield and the surrounding communities of California’s Central Valley. Additional information will be shared as it becomes available.
4 comments
Read more

NEWS: Bikini Beach and Pajama Party Debut on Blu Ray

Just in time for Christmas, MGM is releasing two of Annette's classic AIP films on Blu ray - a  wonderful gift to fans this Holiday season! BIKINI BEACH (1964) and PAJAMA PARTY (1964) are both currently available to order at major retailers online and are scheduled to ship by December 5th.   Those familiar with the MUSCLE BEACH PARTY, BEACH BLANKET BINGO and HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI Blu Rays can attest to the beautifully enhanced image and sound quality revealed in those releases. It is assumed we can expect the same level of improvement over the old DVD's for these latest titles as well! 
Post a Comment
Read more