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Lucky Charms is a brand of
breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...
produced by
General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
since 1964. The cereal consists of multi-colored
marshmallow Marshmallow (, ) is a type of confectionery that is typically made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or normally molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. The sugar c ...
s and pieces of shaped pulverized
oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...
, each resembling one of several objects or symbols associated with good
luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
. The packaging and marketing features a
leprechaun A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. I ...
mascot, Lucky.


History

Lucky Charms was created in 1964 by product developer John Holahan. General Mills management challenged a team of product developers to use the available manufacturing capacity from either of General Mills' two principal cereal products—
Wheaties Wheaties is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is made by General Mills. It is well known for featuring prominent athletes on its packages and has become a cultural icon in the United States. Originally introduced as Washburn's Gold Meda ...
or
Cheerios Cheerios is a brand of cereal manufactured by General Mills in the United States, consisting of pulverized oats in the shape of a solid torus. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, Cheerios is marketed by Cereal Partners under the Ne ...
—and do something unique. Holahan came up with the idea after a visit to the grocery store in which he decided to mix Cheerios with bits of Brach's Circus peanuts. An advertising company employed by General Mills and Company suggested marketing the new cereal around the idea of
charm bracelet A charm bracelet is a type of bracelet which carries personal jewelled ornaments or "charms", such as decorative pendants or wikt:trinket, trinkets. The decorative ''charms'' usually carry personal or sentimental attachment by the owner. Histor ...
s. Thus, the charms of Lucky Charms were born. Lucky Charms is the first cereal to include marshmallows in the recipe. These pieces are called "marshmallow bits", or "marbits", due to their small size. Marbits were invented by Edward S. Olney and Howard S. Thurmon (U.S. patent number 3,607,309, filed November 1, 1968, and assigned September 9, 1971, for ''"preparation of marshmallow with milk solids"),'' with the patent grant now assigned to Kraftco Corporation. The mascot of Lucky Charms, created in 1963, is Lucky the Leprechaun, also known as Sir Charms, and originally called L.C. Leprechaun. The
cartoon character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in ...
's voice was supplied by the late voice actor Arthur Anderson until 1992. Lucky has also been voiced by
Eric Bauza Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian-American voice actor and comedian. His most-known roles include Stimpy on '' Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'', Foop on ''The Fairly OddParents'' and its reboot ''Fairly Odder'', Thunderbolt Ro ...
,
Tex Brashear Tex Brashear (born January 2, 1955) is a voice actor, who after a career in radio in Texas, Arizona, and Los Angeles, made the transition into voice acting. Known as "The Man of 1000 Voices" (although he actually does more than 3000), Brashear ...
,
Jason Graae Jason Graae (pronounced "grah" or "graw", but not "gray") (born 15 May 1958) is an American musical theater actor, best known for his musical theater performances but with a varied career spanning Broadway, opera, television and film. He has ...
,
Doug Preis Doug Preis is an American voice actor, best known for his role as Phil Funnie, Chalky Studebaker, Willie White, Walter "Skunky" Beaumont, Bill Bluff and Vice Principal Lamarr Bone on '' Doug''. Roles * '' Doug'' - Mr. Phil Funnie, Chalky, Willi ...
, and
Daniel Ross Daniel Ross may refer to: * Daniel Ross (actor) (born 1980), American actor, voice actor, and producer * Daniel Ross (philosopher) (born 1970), Australian philosopher and filmmaker * Daniel Ross (marine surveyor) (1780–1849), president of the Bom ...
. In 1975, Lucky the Leprechaun was briefly replaced by Waldo the Wizard in New England, while Lucky remained the mascot in the rest of the United States. Envisioned as a forgetful wizard who was kind to children, Waldo initially prevailed in market tests. However, Waldo's creator Alan Snedeker suspects he sealed Waldo's fate by working on TV ads that portrayed a nicer version of Lucky. The oat cereal was not originally sugar-coated. After initial sales failed to meet expectations, the oats were sugar-coated, and the cereal's success grew. Piggy banks and plastic watches were introduced as cereal box send-away prizes as a marketing tactic to increase sales. The recipe for the cereal remained unchanged until the introduction of a new flavor: Chocolate Lucky Charms, in 2005. Later in 2012, General Mills introduced "Lucky Charms Marshmallow Treats". Following the product launch, the General Mills marketing department found that sales performed dramatically better if the composition of the marbits changed periodically. Various features of the marbits were modified to maximize their appeal to young consumers. Over the years, over 40 limited edition features such as Winter Lucky Charms, Olympic-themed Lucky Charms, and Lucky Charms featuring marshmallow landmarks from around the world were created to drive consumer demands. In focus groups and market research, more brightly colored charms resulted in better sales than did dull or pastel colors. Currently, General Mills conducts "concept-ideation" studies on Lucky Charms. In April 2022, the FDA opened an investigation into whether Lucky Charms was making people ill after receiving reports from over 100 people that it caused nausea, vomiting and other symptoms. A food safety website iwaspoisoned.com separately documented over 3,000 similar complaints from all over the United States and Canada that started trending upwards in 2021.


Marshmallows

The first boxes of Lucky Charms cereal contained marshmallows in the shapes of pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers. The lineup has changed occasionally, beginning with the introduction of
blue diamonds Blue diamond is a type of diamond which exhibits all of the same inherent properties of the mineral except with the additional element of blue color in the stone. They are colored blue by trace amounts of boron that contaminate the crystalline la ...
in 1975, followed by purple horseshoes in 1983, red
balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...
s in 1989, green trees in 1991,
rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
s in 1992, blue moons in 1995,
leprechaun A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. I ...
hats in 1997 (temporarily replaced the green clovers), orange shooting stars and around-the-world charms in 1998 (added blue, green, yellow, purple, and red in 2011), a crystal ball in 2001, an hourglass in 2008, and a unicorn in 2019. In 2013, 6 new rainbow swirl moons and 2 new rainbow charms were introduced. From the original four marshmallows, the permanent roster as of 2013 includes eight marshmallows. Older marshmallows were phased out periodically. The first shapes to disappear were the yellow moons and blue diamonds, replaced by yellow/orange pots of gold and blue moons respectively in 1994. In 2006, the assortment included purple horseshoes; red balloons; blue crescent-moons; orange and white shooting stars; yellow and orange pots of gold; pink, yellow, and blue rainbows; two-tone green leprechaun hats; pink hearts (the one shape to survive since the beginning); with the most recent addition being the return of the clovers in 2004. In 2018, for the first time in ten years, Lucky Charms retired a marshmallow, the hourglass shape. It was replaced by a unicorn, which was chosen on social media by way of
emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversat ...
s. The size and brightness of the marshmallows changed in 2004. Recent changes to the marshmallows include the star shape taking on a "star" design, the orange five-pointed star being complemented by a white "trail". In late 2005, another marshmallow shape was added, the "Hidden Key". It is a solid yellow marshmallow that resembles an arched door (similar to the shape of a tombstone; flat at the bottom, flat sides with a round top). When liquid is added to the cereal, the sugar in the marshmallow dissolves and the shape of a skeleton key appears "as if by magic". The tagline was, "Unlock the door with milk!" This "new" marshmallow type has been used in other hot and cold cereals, but with mixed success (from characters "hidden" inside a bigger marshmallow to letters appearing). In early June 2006, General Mills introduced Magic Mirror marshmallows. In 2008, yellow and orange hourglass marshmallows were introduced with the marketing tagline of, "The Hourglass Charm has the power to Stop Time * Speed Up Time * Reverse Time". As of 2011, swirled marshmallows and rainbow-colored stars have been introduced. The marshmallows are meant to represent Lucky's magical charms, each with their own special meaning or "power". , the following are explanations of the permanent marshmallows: * Heart Charm – Gives life to objects * Star Charm – Power of flight * Horseshoe Charm – Power of speed * Clover Charm – Power of luck * Blue Moon Charm – Power of invisibility * Rainbow Charm – Power to teleport * Red Balloon Charm – Power to float * Unicorn Charm – Brings color to the world


Limited edition marshmallows

There have been more than 30 featured limited edition marshmallow shapes over the years, with the introduction of themed Lucky Charms, such as Winter Lucky Charms. Some of these include: * In 1986, a whale-shaped marshmallow was temporarily added to the lineup. * In 1990, a green pine tree-shaped marshmallow was temporarily added to the lineup. During that time, the cereal promoted Earth Day with a free Colorado Blue Spruce seedling with proofs-of-purchase. * In 1991, the star and balloon shape marshmallows were combined for a short time. The red balloon featured a gold six-pointed star. The star was removed at a later date to make the Red Balloon and Star marshmallows separate. * In 1994, sprinkles were temporarily added to the marshmallows. * In 1999, the moon shape marshmallows were modified with the addition of the yellow curve line for a limited time. * In 2000, a "New Sparkling Rainbow" was added to the mix for a limited time. It was described by General Mills as "a sprinkling of multicolored sugar on a white rainbow marbit". This marshmallow replaced the original rainbow at this time. * In 2010, the swirled marshmallows were in Lucky Charms for a limited time. * In June 2013, two new rainbow marshmallows were added for LGBT Pride Month. * In 2015, new diamond-shaped marshmallows were added in. * Introduced in 2017, limited edition cinnamon vanilla Lucky Charms include only snowman, snowball, and snowflake-shaped marshmallows. * In 2018 a unicorn shaped-marshmallow was added; it became a permanent addition later that year. * In 2018 winter-themed marshmallows, including snowmen and snowflakes, were added as part of a limited edition chocolatey winter mix. * In 2021, a limited edition variant of the cereal was promoted called "Loki Charms," modelled after the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
Norse God supervillain
Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
in promotion of the
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original
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
, ''
Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
''. All supplies of the cereal were sold out in seconds upon release on June 9, 2021.


Marshmallow-only promotions

For an
advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...
in May 2017, General Mills announced they would be promoting 10,000 boxes of cereal that contain only marshmallow pieces. In order to win one of the coveted boxes, consumers would need to purchase a specially marked box of regular Lucky Charms with a code on the inside panel. The code would be entered into an official website to see if the consumer is the winner of one of the 10,000
novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...
boxes produced. The sweepstakes ran through December 2017. In August 2020, General Mills announced it would be selling packages of Lucky Charms marshmallow-pieces-only in retail outlets for a limited time. Each six-ounce bag will contain hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers, blue moons, rainbows, red balloons, and unicorns.


Theme song

In the earliest commercials, Lucky Charms cereal had no theme jingle; action was accompanied by a light instrumental "Irish" tune. Soon, however, a simple two-line tag was added: :''Frosted Lucky Charms,'' :''They're magically delicious!'' This simple closer, with the kids usually singing the first line and Lucky singing the second, survived into the 1980s. Then, with the addition of the purple horseshoe marbit, it was extended into a jingle describing the contents of the box. This was later revised with the addition of red balloons to the now-familiar "Hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers, and blue moons, pots of gold, and rainbows, and tasty red balloons!” In 2008, the pot of gold was replaced with the hourglass in the theme song. It was replaced by the Unicorn in 2018. The jingle is usually accompanied by mentioning that Lucky Charms contains whole-grain ingredients and is part of a balanced meal. General Mills's market position is centered on cereals that contain "more whole grain than any other single ingredient, which is significant, because 95 per cent of Americans aren't eating minimally 48 grams of whole grain per day as recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines".


Taglines

* “They're Magically Delicious!” * “Frosted Lucky Charms, They're Magically Delicious!” * “I Love Me Lucky Charms, With 3 New Unicorn Marshmallows, They're Magically Delicious!” * “They're Always After Me Lucky Charms!” * “You'll Never Get Me Lucky Charms!” * “Pink Hearts, Orange Stars, Yellow Moons, and Green Clovers!” * “Pink Hearts, Orange Stars, Yellow Moons, Green Clovers, and Blue Diamonds!” * “Pink Hearts, Orange Stars, Yellow Moons, Green Clovers, Blue Diamonds, and Purple Horseshoes!” * “Pink Hearts, Orange Stars, Yellow Moons, Green Clovers, Blue Diamonds, Purple Horseshoes, and Red Balloons!” * “Hearts, Stars, and Horseshoes, Clovers and Blue Moons, Pots of Gold and Rainbows, and Tasty Red Balloons!” * “Hearts, Stars, and Horseshoes, Clovers and Blue Moons, Hourglasses, Rainbows, and Tasty Red Balloons!” * “Hearts, Stars, and Horseshoes, Clovers, Red Balloons, Hourglasses, Rainbows, and Six New Swirled Moons!” * “Hearts, Stars and Horseshoes, Clovers and Blue Moons, Hourglasses, Rainbows, and Tasty Red Balloons!” * “Hearts, Stars, Horseshoes, Clovers and Blue Moons, Unicorns, Rainbows, and Tasty Red Balloons!”


See also

*
Marshmallow Mateys Marshmallow Mateys (also known as MarshMateys from the Nestlé cereal company in the UK) is an American brand of cereal produced by the MOM Brands food company located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company presented their first line of ready-to ...


References


External links

* {{Nestlé General Mills cereals General Mills characters 1964 establishments in the United States Products introduced in 1964 Saint Patrick's Day fiction Leprechauns in popular culture Male characters in advertising Mascots introduced in 1964 Marshmallows