Honey Smacks - Marketing History

Marketing History

Ever since the cereal was introduced in 1953, there have been various different mascots.

Cliffy the Clown

Various clowns served as the advertising mascot from 1953 to 1956, including Cliffy the Clown. Ads with these clowns were known for showing them do the "Sugar Smack Swing".

Smaxey the Seal

In 1957, a sailor-suit-wearing seal named Smaxey became the mascot.

Quick Draw McGraw

The Hanna-Barbera cartoon horse sheriff, Quick Draw McGraw, took over in 1961.

The Smackin' Bandit

In 1965, the mascot became The Smackin' Bandit, a half-mule, half-kangaroo who kissed everyone in sight.

The Smackin' Brothers

The Smackin' Bandit was replaced in 1966 by the Smackin' Brothers, two boys dressed in boxing shorts and boxing gloves. These ads usually featured the brothers wanting Sugar Smacks but wind up smacking each other instead. Also during 1966, promotional box designs were briefly introduced featuring characters from Star Trek. Later commercials were similar to most Cheerios commercials as they demonstrated how the cereal was "vitamin-powered". Paul Frees narrated these ads.

Dig'em Frog

In the early 1970s, an Indian Chief appeared briefly, replaced by Dig'em Frog in 1972. He continued as spokesfrog when the cereal was rechristened Honey Smacks in the early 1980s. In these ads, Dig'em would appear in front of a group of kids, and they would have some cereal together.

Love Smack's

This character was a loveable heart shaped dog, which was featured in 1982 giving hugs to children.

Wally the Bear

Dig 'em was replaced by an animal more associated with honey, Wally the Bear, in 1986 (1984 in France). These ads would feature Wally (not to be confused with the Wally Bear from Wally Bear and the NO! Gang) pestering a kid eating a bowl of Honey Smacks and doing anything to get some, and the kid would always refuse or just ignore Wally completely. These commercials didn't do too well since they seemed too much like the Trix commercials, plus Wally was not a very attractive character, and Dig'em Frog was brought back the following year by popular demand.

Dig'em Frog (redux)

During the 1990s, advertising campaigns for the cereal featured Dig'em attempting to have a bowl of Smacks while trying to outsmart his nemesis, Kitty. By 1997, these commercials were discontinued. Dig'em's voice was provided by Len Dresslar and for present the character is voiced in commercials by Frank Welker. While ads for Honey Smacks don't air in the US as of lately, more recent ads in other countries depict Dig'em as a character who's crazily addicted to Smacks.

In the United Kingdom, the cereal was promoted with the character Barney Bee and rivaled Quaker's Sugar Puffs brand. However, due to Sugar Puffs' long established popularity, "Puffa Wheats", as they are now called, are only available in Poundland or other Pound stores in the United Kingdom.

In France, the cereal was called "Smacks" with a box featuring prominently in Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 film Alphaville.