Betty Crocker is a brand and fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes. The character was originally created by the Washburn-Crosby Company in 1921 following a contest in the '' Saturday Evening Post''. In 1954,

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 ...

introduced the red spoon logo with her signature, placing it on Gold Medal flour, Bisquick, and cake-mix packages. A portrait of Betty Crocker, first commissioned in 1936 and revised several times since, appears on printed advertisements and product packaging. The character was developed in 1920 as a way to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. The name Betty was selected because it was viewed as a cheery, all-American name. It was paired with the last name Crocker, in honor of William Crocker, a Washburn Crosby Company director. The character's image has been updated seven times since her creation, reflecting changes in fashions and hairstyles. Described as an American

cultural icon A cultural icon is a person or an artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen as an authentic ...

, the image of Betty Crocker has endured several generations, adapting to changing social, political and economic currents. Apart from advertising campaigns in printed, broadcast and digital media, she received a number of cultural references in film, literature, music and comics.

Creation

Betty Crocker was created in 1921 by Washburn-Crosby and advertiser

Bruce Barton Bruce Fairchild Barton (August 5, 1886 – July 5, 1967) was an American author, advertising executive, and Republican politician. He represented Manhattan in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1937 to 1941. In 1940, he ran for election to th ...

. Crocker was based off a sous-chef from Franklin College — where Barton attended school — that made the delicious, if somewhat dry, baked goods for the cafeteria. Under

Marjorie Husted Marjorie Husted (née Child; April 2, 1892 – December 23, 1986) was an American home economist and businesswoman who worked for General Mills and was responsible for the success and fame of the brand character Betty Crocker. Husted wrote Bett ...

's supervision, the image of Betty Crocker became the "Zeus" of General Mills. In 1928, Washburn Crosby merged with other milling companies to form General Mills. In 1924, Crocker acquired a voice with the debut of "The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air" on one station in Minneapolis. It was the country's first radio cooking program. Blanche Ingersoll followed by Husted were selected to portray Betty Crocker. The show proved popular, and eventually was carried nationally on NBC Radio, with Agnes White as Betty. Over the next three decades, the women would anonymously portray Betty Crocker on the air and at cooking schools. In 1929, Betty Crocker

coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in r ...

s were introduced. Inserted in bags of flour, they could be used to reduce the cost of

Oneida Limited Oneida Limited () is an American manufacturer and seller of tableware and cutlery. Oneida is one of the world’s largest designers and sellers of stainless steel and silverplated cutlery and tableware for the consumer and foodservice industries ...

flatware. By 1932, this scheme had become so popular that General Mills began to offer an entire set of flatware; the pattern was called "Friendship" (later renamed "Medality"). In 1937, the coupons were printed on the outside of packages, copy on which told purchasers to "save and redeem for huge savings on fine kitchen and home accessories in our

catalog Catalog or catalogue may refer to: *Cataloging **'emmy on the 'og **in science and technology ***Library catalog, a catalog of books and other media ****Union catalog, a combined library catalog describing the collections of a number of libraries ...

Cookbooks

From 1930, General Mills issued softbound recipe books, including, in 1933, ''Betty Crocker's 101 Delicious Bisquick Creations, as Made and Served by Well-Known Gracious Hostesses, Famous Chefs, Distinguished Epicures and Smart Luminaries of Movieland.'' The ''Betty Crocker Cook Book of All-Purpose Baking'' was published as an aid to wartime considerations in cooking. In 1950, the ''Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook'' was published. It was written by nutritionist Agnes White Tizard. In 2005, the 10th edition of the Betty Crocker cookbook was published, as well as a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

bilingual book that collects some of the more common recipes for Spanish-speaking readers looking to cook American-style food. An 11th edition, in ring-binder format, appeared in 2011. At least 17 other Betty Crocker recipe collections were also in print in 2015. Recipes and collections are also available digitally.

Media

''Betty Crocker'' programs first appeared on radio on local stations in 1924. The first network ''Betty Crocker'' broadcast was on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in 1926. The show remained on network radio until 1953; most of the time the program was on NBC or

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, but it was on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from 1947 to 1953. Betty Crocker was portrayed by several actresses, including

on radio for twenty years, and

Adelaide Hawley Cumming Adelaide Hawley Cumming (born Dieta Adelaide Fish; March 6, 1905 – December 21, 1998) was an American vaudeville performer, radio host, television star and living trademark "Betty Crocker", and in later years, a teacher. Early life and educati ...

on television between 1949 and 1964. In 1949, the actress

became Betty Crocker for many years. She appeared for several years on ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in ...

'', and even had her own TV show, ''

Betty Crocker Star Matinee ''Betty Crocker Star Matinee'' is a US television anthology hosted by Adelaide Hawley under the General Mills persona of Betty Crocker. There were 26 episodes that aired from 1951-52 on WJZ-TV, at that time an American Broadcasting Company affil ...

''. She also appeared in the

network's first color commercial, in which she baked a "mystery fruit cake". Hawley continued to portray Betty Crocker until 1964. A portrait of Betty Crocker was first commissioned in 1936, a "motherly image" that "blended the features of several Home Service Department members" that was painted by

Neysa McMein Neysa Moran McMein (born Marjorie Frances McMein; January 24, 1888 – May 12, 1949) was an American illustrator and portrait painter who studied at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and Art Students League of New York. She began her ca ...

. It subtly changed over the years, but always accommodated General Mills' cultural perception of the American homemaker — knowledgeable and caring. The 1996 portrait of Betty Crocker, according to General Mills, was partially inspired by a "computerized composite" of "75 women of diverse backgrounds and ages." These portraits were always painted, with no real person ever having posed as a model. In 1945, '' Fortune'' magazine named Betty Crocker the second most popular woman in America;

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

was named first. In the same year, ''Fortune'' "outed" Betty Crocker as a fictitious creation, calling her a "fake" and a "fraud."

Legacy

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The

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

suburb of

Golden Valley, Minnesota Golden Valley is a western and first-ring suburb of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The city is mostly residential and is bordered by U.S. Highway 12 (Interstate 394). Over 15% of the city is parks or nature reserves. ...

, where General Mills is headquartered, has a street named Betty Crocker Drive. There are a number of Betty Crocker–branded products, including plastic food containers and measuring cups, and a line of small appliances such as popcorn poppers and sandwich makers. In 2006, the Betty Crocker catalog operation went out of business with all of its inventory on sale. Points were redeemable until December 15, 2006. A new online store was launched in April 2007 but discontinued sometime thereafter.

Products

* Bac-Os (discontinued in 2016) * Betty Crocker Brownie bar * ''

Betty Crocker Cookbook The ''Betty Crocker Cookbook'' is a cookbook written by staff at General Mills, the holders of the Betty Crocker trademark. The persona of Betty Crocker was invented by the Washburn-Crosby Company (which would later become General Mills) as a femi ...

'' * Betty Crocker baking mixes * Bisquick *

Fruit Roll-Ups Fruit Roll-Ups is a brand of fruit snack that debuted in grocery stores across America in 1983. It is a flat, pectin-based, fruit-flavored snack rolled into a tube, spread on a backing sheet of cellophane to prevent the product from sticking to i ...

* Betty Crocker canned frosting * Bowl Appetit shelf-stable entrees * Betty Crocker Soda Licious (discontinued) * Cake and dessert decorating products *

Dunk-a-roos Dunkaroos are a snack food from Betty Crocker, first launched in 1990. It consists of a snack-sized package containing cookies and frosting; as the name implies, the cookies are meant to be dunked into the frosting before eating. Individual sn ...

* Fruit by the Foot *

Fruit Gushers Fruit Gushers (also simply Gushers) are a Betty Crocker-branded fruit snack introduced in 1991. They are soft and chewy with a fruity-juice center. History Fruit Gushers (sometimes simply "Gushers") were introduced in 1991 as a Betty Crocker f ...

Betty Crocker product list
General Mills *

Hamburger Helper Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product from Eagle Foods. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often pasta or rice), with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The consumer is meant to combine the contents of the box with brow ...

and related products * Potato Buds instant

mashed potatoes Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...

* Suddenly Salad mixes * "Shake and make" pancake mix * Warm Delights microwavable desserts

Citations

General sources

* * Crocker, Betty. ''Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book''. New York: McGraw-Hill and General Mills, 1950 (first edition of the "Big Red" cookbook). * Dunning, John. ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio.'' Oxford University Press, 1998. . * Gray, James. ''Business without Boundary: The Story of General Mills''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1954 (scholarly history of General Mills, including the invention of Crocker). * Marks, Susan (2007). ''Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food'' University of Minnesota Press. . (Popular book.) * Shapiro, Laura. "Is She Real?" In ''Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America'', 169–209. New York: Viking, 2004. (Chapter on Betty Crocker in a popular book with footnotes.)

External links

* {{Authority control American culture Baking mixes Cookbooks Crocker, Betty Crocker Crocker Crocker, Betty Crocker, Betty Food product brands General Mills brands Crocker, Betty Crocker, Betty Mass media franchises introduced in 1921 Crocker