Pep was a brand of whole-wheat breakfast cereal produced by the

Kellogg Company The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...

, and introduced in 1923, which became the first to be fortified with vitamins B and D in 1938. Pep was a long-running rival to

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 ...

, and also the sponsor of Mutual Radio's '' The Adventures of Superman'' radio series. One of Pep's advertising slogans was "the Sunshine cereal". Pep became one of the first "

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

" cereals, with an infusion of

vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrie ...

s, beginning in the 1930s. Extensive

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

, from print advertisements to sponsorship of '' The Adventures of Superman'' and the television and radio shows of '' Tom Corbett—Space Cadet'' helped keep the brand in the public's (particularly children's) consciousness. Pep was included in "variety packs" of serving-sized boxes of Kellogg's cereals. The cereal's "mildly laxative" property was routinely mentioned in print ads. Pep faded from popularity as public tastes changed, and the brand was discontinued in the late 1970s.

In-package prizes

In 1945, Kellogg inserted a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

in the form of pinback buttons into each box of Pep cereal. Pep pins included U.S. Army squadrons as well as characters from newspaper comics. There were five series of comics characters, with 18 different buttons in each set. This would make 90 buttons in the complete set, but the Superman button appeared in all five sets, because of the close association between Kellogg's Pep and the ''Adventures of Superman'' radio show. This makes a total of 86 unique comic buttons in the set. Mint condition Pep pins, as with prizes from many cereal brands, have become sought-after

collectable A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms ...

References

Kellog's Pep is shown in The Highwayman.

External links

Kellogg Company History
Products introduced in 1923 1970s disestablishments in the United States Kellogg's cereals {{breakfast-stub