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cereals to the UK. The cereal, and the Sunny Jim character achieved wide success in
Britain, at its peak in 1930 selling 12.5 million packages. In 1932 the cereal was reintroduced into the United States by Herbert C. Rice, an Englishman involved in radio production in Buffalo. He introduced The H-Bar-O Rangers, a popular radio adventure serial for boys involving another permutation of the Sunny Jim character, and linked to an advertising campaign for the cereal. It didn't last.
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In 1903 a
British subsidiary of the Force Food Company was formed to import the cereal to Europe. A slightly modified version of Sunny Jim and his jingles caught the fancy of British consumers. A. C. Fincken, a former employee of the Force Food Company, set up an agency in 1910 to import American
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Manufacture of Force cereal ceased in 2013, the reason cited being poor sales, although in the last few years of production the cereal had been difficult to find due to having very few retail outlets, latterly only
Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Ocado. The Sunny Jim mascot continued to be used in the
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In late 1901 Minnie Maud Hanff, a freelance jingle writer, invented the character Jimmy Dumps, a morose character who on eating the cereal was transformed into Sunny Jim. Dorothy Ficken produced line drawings, and Hanff produced lighthearted jingles describing Sunny Jim's transformation. The
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The first advertising copy for the new product described the cereal as "The Food That is all Food", the advertising images showed rosy-cheeked children, and it was sold in a box decorated with images of muscular men wrestling with chains. Perhaps because it was not initially targeted at a
234:. The product was cheap to produce and kept well on store shelves. First produced in 1901 by the Force Food Company in Buffalo, New York, it was one of three companies owned by Edward Ellsworth and advertised using a popular cartoon figure called Sunny Jim.
258:, producing a total of 360,000 packages per day. Ellsworth overextended and lost control of his companies in 1907. Thereafter Force cereal changed ownership frequently in the United States, following a convoluted path involving many
431:." However, the cereal company turned its advertising account over to a different firm, which did not approve of humor in advertising and more or less abandoned the campaign.
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296:: perhaps successful, but exposed to a very narrow market. A pre decimal coin collection was available with all 10 coins of ER2 including the farthing, circa 1986-88.
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Also used was the slogan "When skies are grey and times are grim, wake up and smile with Sunny Jim", which appeared on advertising coins.
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advertising appeared in magazines, on billboards, and on the sides of urban trolley cars from May 1902 through to the fall.
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The campaign was wildly successful. Force was originally produced in a single plant in
Buffalo, but by early 1904 the
475:"The Early Years of American Ready to Eat Breakfast Cereal: The Honorable Mentions of the Breakfast Cereal Revolution"
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Since 1954 the cereal was manufactured in the UK for domestic sale. A.C. Fincken & Co., Ltd. was sold to
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stated
September 17, 1902 that "No current novel or play is so universally popular. He is as well-known as
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such as "Better than a
Vacation" and "A Different Food for Indifferent Appetites." Other verses included:
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The Early Years of
American Ready to Eat Breakfast Cereal: The Breakfast Cereal Revolution Until 1930
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http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/ambient/cereals/force-cereal-axed-after-112-years/235914.article
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reported that there was one more Force food mill in
Buffalo, a third mill in Chicago and one in
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The Sunny Jim wheat flakes character is referenced in the lyrics to the song 1000 Umbrellas by
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Since then, the Force wheatflakes brand was revived for UK consumers, and was acquired by
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Company, in 1985. An unusual marketing campaign in the 1970s was focussed on the
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http://www.waitrose.com/shop/ProductView-10317-10001-9-Force+whole+wheat+flakes
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The campaign was wildly successful at promoting the character of Sunny Jim.
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News/Sun-Sentinel, Ed
Rochette, Special to the (22 June 1986).
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650:"1970s - Force Pre Decimal Coin Collection Send Away Offer"
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262:. The last owner stopped producing the cereal in 1983.
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The Case for Sunny Jim: An
Advertising Legend Revisited
300:United Kingdom until the cereal's discontinuation.
60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
222:was the first commercially successful wheat flake
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398:You can't beat the cereal, that raised Sunny Jim!
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632:"1977 - Force Sunny Jims Excursions Packet Back"
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524:"PREMIUM 'POCKET PIECES' PROMOTED WITH POETRY"
360:. Rather than selling the benefits of eating
546:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
338:was created in the United States in 1902 by
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243:well-defined market, it did not sell well.
383:Since then they've called him "Sunny Jim."
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610:The Golden Age of DC Comics: 365 Days by
562:"The H-O Oats Elevator Historical Marker"
374:In his gloomy way he'd gone through life,
146:Early Force packaging featuring Sunny Jim
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
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395:Whatever you say, wherever you've been,
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371:Who lived his life on the hermit plan;
666:The Grocer (website), Jan 26, 2013 (
406:High o'er the fence leaps Sunny Jim,
380:Till Force one day was served to him
377:And made the most of woe and strife;
368:Jim Dumps was a most unfriendly man,
58:adding citations to reliable sources
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587:"Force cereal axed after 112 years"
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679:Waitrose Online Supermarket (UK):
585:Montague-Jones, Guy (2013-01-26).
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409:Force is the food that raises him
499:"Force Cereal | MrBreakfast.com"
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52:Please help
47:verification
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612:Les Daniels
354:Fred Gwynne
692:Categories
591:The Grocer
571:2021-06-13
533:2021-06-13
508:2021-06-13
484:2021-06-13
446:References
440:Skylarking
311:website.
279:Kryptonite
176:Created by
110:March 2013
80:newspapers
332:character
315:Sunny Jim
163:Breakfast
542:cite web
309:Waitrose
275:Superman
184:Invented
596:May 11,
456:Sextant
442:album.
438:on the
389:slogans
238:History
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347:artist
340:writer
336:cereal
305:Nestlé
290:Nestle
160:Course
155:Cereal
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362:wheat
277:like
220:Force
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101:JSTOR
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598:2021
548:link
402:and
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330:The
205:Cold
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