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{{short description|Advertising character}}
⚫
'''Little Mikey''' was a young fictional boy (played by John Gilchrist) in an [[Television in the United States|American television]] [[television advertisement|commercial]] promoting [[Quaker Oats]]' breakfast cereal [[Life (cereal)|Life]]. The ad, created by art director Bob Gage (who also directed the commercial)<ref>{{cite news|title=Robert Gage, 78, Art Director; Had a Role in Well-Known Ads|author=Nick Ravo|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/08/business/robert-gage-78-art-director-had-a-role-in-well-known-ads.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2000-04-08|accessdate=2010-08-15}}</ref> and copywriter Edyth Vaughn "Edie" Stevenson of the [[DDB Worldwide|Doyle Dane Bernbach]] [[Advertising agency|agency]],<ref name="edieobit">{{cite news|author=Slotnik, Daniel E. |date= December 16, 2011|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/business/media/edie-stevenson-dies-at-81-wrote-lets-get-mikey-ad.html |title=Edie Stevenson, 81; Wrote 'Let's Get Mikey' Ad|work=[[The New York Times]]|page= A32}}</ref> first aired in [[1972 in television|1972]]. The popular ad campaign, featuring Mikey, remained in regular rotation for more than 12 years and ended up as one of the longest continuously running commercial campaigns ever aired.<ref name=McS>{{cite news|url=http://mcsweeneys.net/2002/10/07mikey.html |title=Mikey: An Investigation|author= Spitznagel,Eric |work=[[Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern]]}}</ref><ref name=Quaker>{{cite web|url=http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/PressReleases/PressRelease.cfm?ID=119 |date=January 2000 |title=Press release |website= Quaker Oats}}</ref>
[[File:Little Mikey 1972.jpg|thumb|Little Mikey in the original 1972 Life cereal ad]]
⚫
'''Little Mikey''' is a fictional boy played by John Gilchrist (born February 2, 1968) in an [[Television in the United States|American television]] [[television advertisement|commercial]] promoting [[Quaker Oats]]' breakfast cereal [[Life (cereal)|Life]]. The ad was created by art director Bob Gage, who also directed the commercial.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ravo |first=Nick |date=April 8, 2000 |title=Robert Gage, 78, Art Director; Had a Role in Well-Known Ads |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/08/business/robert-gage-78-art-director-had-a-role-in-well-known-ads.html |access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref> It first aired in [[1972 in television|1972]]. The popular ad campaign featuring Mikey remained in regular rotation for more than 12 years and was one of the longest continuously running commercial campaigns.<ref name="McS">{{Cite news |last=Spitznagel |first=Eric |title=Mikey: An Investigation |work=[[Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern]] |url=http://mcsweeneys.net/2002/10/07mikey.html |url-status=dead |access-date=February 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610224045/http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2002/10/07mikey.html |archive-date=June 10, 2007}}</ref><ref name="QuakerPR">{{Cite press release |title=Press release |date=January 1, 2000 |url=http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/PressReleases/PressRelease.cfm?ID=119 |website=Quaker Oats}}</ref>

==Original commercial==
==Original commercial==
The [[icon]]ic commercial centers on three brothers eating [[breakfast]]. Before them sits a heaping bowl of Life [[breakfast cereal]]. Two of the brothers question each other about the cereal, prodding each other to try it, and noting that it is supposed to be healthy. Neither wants to try it ("I'm not gonna try it—''you'' try it!"), so they get their brother Mikey to try it ("Let's get Mikey"), noting, "he hates everything". Mikey briefly stares at the bowl. After moments of contemplation, he begins to vigorously consume the cereal before him, resulting in his brothers excitedly exclaiming, "He likes it! Hey, Mikey!" Mikey's brothers in the commercial are Gilchrist's actual brothers, named Michael (the one on the left in the spot) and Tommy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-12-09/lifestyle/0280070073_1_mikey-life-cereal-john-gilchrist|date=December 9, 1986|work=Orlando Sentinel|title=Mikey Life Cereal actor: John Gilchrist}}</ref> John is the middle child of seven children born to Tom and Pat Gilchrist of the Bronx.{{cn|date=November 2015}}
The commercial centers on three young brothers eating [[breakfast]]. Before them sits a heaping bowl of Life [[breakfast cereal]]. Two of the brothers question each other about the cereal, prodding each other to try it and noting that it is supposed to be healthy. Neither boy has any desire to taste it ("I'm not gonna try it—''you'' try it!"), so they get their younger brother Mikey to do so ("Let's get Mikey"), noting that "he hates everything". Mikey briefly contemplates the bowl and after tasting the cereal, begins to eat it vigorously as the brothers exclaim, "He likes it! Hey Mikey!" Mikey's brothers were played by Gilchrist's actual brothers, Michael (on the left in the spot) and Tommy.<ref name="OrlandoSentinelJG">{{Cite news |date=December 9, 1986 |title=Mikey Life Cereal actor: John Gilchrist |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1986/12/09/mikey-comes-back-to-life-and-he-still-likes-it/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621012358/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-12-09/lifestyle/0280070073_1_mikey-life-cereal-john-gilchrist |archive-date=June 21, 2013}}</ref> John is the middle child of seven children born to Tom and Pat Gilchrist of the Bronx.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}.


==Reception==
==Reception==
The advertisement was very popular and won a [[Clio Award]] in 1974.<ref name="edieobit"/> It was also often referenced in retrospectives of classic television advertisements. For example, in 1999, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked it the #10 commercial of all time.<ref name=TVG>{{cite news|title=The 50 Greatest Commercials of All Time|work=[[TV Guide]]|date= July 3, 1999|work=TV Guide}}</ref> Despite the commercial's age, a 1999 survey noted that 70% of adults could identify the spot based on just a "brief generic description."<ref name=Forbes>{{cite book|title=Strategic Equity Assessment for Life Cereal|author= Forbes Consulting Group|date= August 1999 |url=http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/PressReleases/PressRelease.cfm?ID=119 }}</ref>
The commercial was very popular and won a [[Clio Award]] in 1974.<ref name="Slotnik">{{Cite news |last=Slotnik |first=Daniel E. |date=December 15, 2011 |title=Edie Stevenson Dies at 81; Wrote 'Let's Get Mikey' Ad |page=A32 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/business/media/edie-stevenson-dies-at-81-wrote-lets-get-mikey-ad.html |access-date=March 4, 2022}}</ref> It has often been included in retrospectives of classic television ads. In 1999, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked it the No. 10 commercial of all time.<ref name="TVG">{{Cite magazine |date=July 3, 1999 |title=The 50 Greatest Commercials of All Time |magazine=[[TV Guide]]}}</ref> Despite its age, a 1999 survey found that 70% of adults could identify the spot based on just a "brief generic description."<ref name="Forbes">{{Cite press release |title=Strategic Equity Assessment for Life Cereal |date=August 1, 1999 |publisher=Forbes Consulting Group |url=http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/PressReleases/PressRelease.cfm?ID=119}}</ref>


==Sequels==
==Sequels==
A series of "Today's Mikey" ads aired in the mid-1980s, with Gilchrist reprising the character as a college student.
A series of "Today's Mikey" ads aired in the 1980s, with Gilchrist bemusedly reprising the character as a college student.{{cn|date=July 2020}}


In 1996, Quaker Oats commissioned director Rick Schulze, of [[Industrial Light & Magic|Industrial Light & Magic Commercial Productions]], to [[Digital compositing|digitally composite]] a bottle of [[Snapple]], then a subsidiary of Quaker Oats, into the original Life ad, via longtime [[Snapple]] ad agency Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, New York. This time, however, in an ironic twist, Mikey likes some of the product's flavors while disliking the others.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coming Back to Life|author=Chris Nashawaty|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292150,00.html| journal =[[Entertainment Weekly]]|issue=323|date=1996-04-09 |accessdate=2010-08-15}}</ref>
In 1996, Quaker Oats commissioned director Rick Schulze, of [[Industrial Light & Magic|Industrial Light & Magic Commercial Productions]], to [[Digital compositing|digitally composite]] a bottle of [[Snapple]], then a subsidiary of Quaker Oats, into the original Life ad, via longtime [[Snapple]] ad agency Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, New York. This time, however, in an ironic twist, Mikey likes some of the product's flavors while disliking the others.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Nashawaty |first=Chris |date=April 9, 1996 |title=Coming Back to Life |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292150,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427110155/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292150,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 27, 2009 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=323 |access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref>


Life's ad agency, [[Draftfcb|Foote, Cone & Belding]] in Chicago, revived the Mikey character for two campaigns in the late 1990s. In 1997, Quaker Oats initiated a nationwide search for the "next Mikey", settling on 4-year-old Marli Hughes out of more than 35,000 applicants.<ref name= New>{{cite web|url=http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/BrandInfo/BrandDetail.cfm?BrandID=8&section=brandhistory |title=Life Cereal Brand History|website=Quaker Oats}}</ref> She also appeared in a TV commercial, "Better Life" directed by Howard Rose, where she is seen telling her classmates how she won the contest and traveled to New York to do some TV shows. She adds that as the new Mikey she gets to eat as much Life cereal as she wants.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hey Mikey! Meet Marli|author=Scott Hume|url=http://www.adweek.com/aw/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=533734|journal=[[Adweek]]|date=1998-01-19|accessdate=2010-08-15}}</ref>
Life's ad agency, [[Draftfcb|Foote, Cone & Belding]], in Chicago, revived the Mikey character for two campaigns in the late 1990s. In 1997, Quaker Oats initiated a nationwide search for the "next Mikey", settling on 4-year-old Marli Hughes out of more than 35,000 applicants.<ref name="New">{{Cite web |title=Life Cereal Brand History |url=http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/BrandInfo/BrandDetail.cfm?BrandID=8&section=brandhistory |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522112836/http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/BrandInfo/BrandDetail.cfm?BrandID=8&section=brandhistory |archive-date=May 22, 2006 |access-date=March 4, 2022 |website=Quaker Oats}}</ref> She also appeared in a TV commercial, "Better Life" directed by Howard Rose, where she is seen telling her classmates how she won the contest and traveled to New York to do some TV shows. She adds that as the new Mikey she gets to eat as much Life cereal as she wants.<ref name="Adweek">{{Cite news |last=Hume |first=Scott |date=January 19, 1998 |title=Hey Mikey! Meet Marli |work=[[Adweek]] |url=https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/hey-mikey-meet-marli-42004/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212152418/https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/hey-mikey-meet-marli-42004/ |archive-date=December 12, 2018}}</ref>


In 1999, Quaker Oats remade the commercial word for word with an all-adult cast acting like kids. Mikey is portrayed by New York-based actor Jimmy Starace.<ref name=CNN>{{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0001/17/wt.08.html |title=Transcript|work= [[CNN]] |date= January 17, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Remember Mikey? He's back|url=http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-00/01-23-00/d01bu129.htm|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=2000-01-23|accessdate=2010-08-15}}</ref>
In 1999, Quaker Oats remade the commercial word for word with an all-adult cast acting like kids. Mikey is portrayed by New York-based actor Jimmy Starace.<ref name="CNN">{{Cite interview |last=Gilchrist |first=John |interviewer=Jeanne Moos |title=World Today: Life Cereal Brings Back Mikey Commercial -- Sort of |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0001/17/wt.08.html |access-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402195836/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0001/17/wt.08.html |archive-date=April 2, 2019 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=January 17, 2000}}</ref><ref name="SouthCoastToday">{{Cite news |date=January 23, 2000 |title=Remember Mikey? He's back |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-00/01-23-00/d01bu129.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627220907/http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-00/01-23-00/d01bu129.htm |archive-date=June 27, 2010}}</ref>


In 2024, Mikey was brought back in a commercial titled "Mikey's Morning". Played by Hudson Uebelhardt, he sings about his chaotic morning, which is made sweeter with a bowl of Life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guess who’s back? Mikey returns to Life Cereal with a new ad & a big love for life |url=https://www.thedrum.com/news/2024/09/12/guess-who-s-back-mikey-returns-life-cereal-with-new-ad-big-love-life |access-date=November 22, 2024 |website=The Drum}}</ref>
==Urban Legend==
A few years after the original commercial appeared, an [[urban legend]] spread that the actor who had played Little Mikey had died after eating an unexpectedly lethal combination of [[Pop Rocks]] (a type of [[carbonation|carbonated]] [[candy|hard candy]]) and a carbonated soft drink, which caused his stomach to inflate with [[carbon dioxide]]. A ''[[Mythbusters]]'' exploration of the legend in detail debunked the story, adding that the show had tried to contact John Gilchrist, but he did not return their calls. The legend is '''not true'''; Gilchrist is a director of media sales at New York’s [[MSG Network]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/media/john-gilchrist-who-played-mikey-in-life-cereal-commercial-still-likes-it-after-all-these-years-1.4253447|work=Newsday|title=John Gilchrist, who palyed Mikey in Life cereal commercial, still likes it after all these years}}</ref> The human stomach is too elastic to rupture or explode from consuming such excesses of carbonated foods or beverages.{{cn|date=November 2015}}


==Afterward==
==Afterward==
For many years, Mikey was the subject of an [[urban legend]] that purported that he had died after consuming [[Pop Rocks]] and [[Coca-Cola|Coke]], supposedly causing a fatal [[stomach rupture]].<ref name=Snopes>{{cite web |last1=Mikkelson |first1=Barbara |title=Did Pop Rocks and Soda Kill 'Little Mikey'? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pop-rocks-soda/ |website=Snopes |language=en |date=July 31, 2000}}</ref> In fact, the actor who played Mikey, John Gilchrist, is still alive. ''[[Snopes]]'' later reported that the combination of Pop Rocks and Coke would do little more than produce a "hearty [[belch]]".<ref name=Snopes/>
⚫
By 2012, John Gilchrist had become director of media sales for [[MSG Network]]. He has said that he has no clear memories of filming the commercial when he was age 3 1/2.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Best|first1=Neal|title=John Gilchrist, who played "Mikey" in TV ad, still likes it after all these years|work=Newsday|date=November 22, 2012| url= http://www.newsday.com/sports/media/john-gilchrist-who-played-mikey-in-life-cereal-commercial-still-likes-it-after-all-these-years-1.4253447|accessdate=3 July 2014}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
===Films===
*This commercial can been seen on one of four TV screens shown at the end of the film ''[[Network (film)|Network]]'' (1976).
*In the film ''[[The Matrix]]'' (1999), the protagonist [[Neo (The Matrix)|Neo]] is undergoing training simulations. After he receives his first upload of combat training, Tank paraphrases the famous line from the commercial, saying, "Hey, Mikey, I think he likes it".
*In the film ''[[Urban Legend (film)|Urban Legend]]'' (1999), the story of little Mikey dying from consuming Pop Rocks and Coke is brought up and discussed by the class.


According to Gilchrist, the legend became so widespread that his own mother received a phone call from another woman to offer condolences for the death of her son, to which Mrs. Gilchrist replied, "He just came home from school!"<ref name = Snopes/><ref name = Newsday/>
===Stage productions===
*In ''[[Shrek The Musical]]'' (2008-2010), one of the main characters, Donkey, sings a song "Don't Let Me Go". In the song, he is begging another character not to leave him and starts naming things that go together. He sings, "like Cupid and Psyche, like Pop Rocks and Mikey!"


⚫
In 2011, Gilchrist became the director of media sales for [[MSG (TV network)|MSG Network]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gilchrist |first1=John |title=John Gilchrist |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilchrist-655b707/ |website=LinkedIn |access-date=January 9, 2024}}</ref> He has said that he has no clear memories of filming the original commercial since he was only three and a half years old.<ref name=Newsday>{{Cite news |last=Best |first=Neal |date=November 22, 2012 |title=John Gilchrist, who played "Mikey" in TV ad, still likes it after all these years |work=[[Newsday]] |url=https://www.newsday.com/sports/media/john-gilchrist-who-played-mikey-in-life-cereal-commercial-still-likes-it-after-all-these-years-1.4253447 |access-date=July 3, 2014}}</ref>
===Television===
*A 1991 promo for ''[[CBS This Morning]]'' parodied the commercial.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9atSCHH4b2U |work=CBS This Morning|title=Parody|date=1991}}</ref>
* In the 1980s-based TV show ''[[The Goldbergs (TV series)|The Goldbergs]]'' (ABC, 2013) Barry thinks he is saving his sister Erica's life when he prevents her from drinking cola with Pop Rocks. Both brothers Adam and Barry explain to Erica about "Mikey from Life Cereal". Erica refuses to listen, then their grandfather intervenes, exclaiming, "What are you, nuts? Mikey gave his life so that that would never happen again."


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}


==Literature==
==Further reading==


{{cite book|editor=Thomas Riggs|title=Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns|year=1999|publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]|location=[[Detroit]] [etc.]|isbn=0-7876-3042-X|chapter=MIKEY Campaign|chapterurl=http://www.jiffynotes.com/a_study_guides/book_notes_add/emmc_0001_0001_0/emmc_0001_0001_0_00240.html#MIKEY_Campaign}}
{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]] |year=1999 |isbn=0-7876-3042-X |editor-last=Riggs |editor-first=Thomas |location=[[Detroit]] [etc.] |chapter=MIKEY Campaign |chapter-url=http://www.jiffynotes.com/a_study_guides/book_notes_add/emmc_0001_0001_0/emmc_0001_0001_0_00240.html#MIKEY_Campaign}}


==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb name|1965418|John Gilchrist Jr.}}
* {{IMDb name|1965418|John Gilchrist Jr.}}
* The commercial can be seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhdHJ8GMiJc here] on [[YouTube]].
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93vjY9RY4-k Discovery Channel's ''Mythbusters'' video busting the myth].


[[Category:Cereal advertising characters]]
[[Category:Quaker Oats Company characters]]
[[Category:Television commercials]]
[[Category:American television commercials]]
[[Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1972]]
[[Category:Mascots introduced in 1972]]
[[Category:Male characters in advertising]]
[[Category:Child characters in advertising]]
[[Category:Clio Award winners]]
[[Category:1970s television commercials]]

Latest revision as of 00:50, 23 November 2024

Little Mikey in the original 1972 Life cereal ad

Little Mikey is a fictional boy played by John Gilchrist (born February 2, 1968) in an American television commercial promoting Quaker Oats' breakfast cereal Life. The ad was created by art director Bob Gage, who also directed the commercial.[1] It first aired in 1972. The popular ad campaign featuring Mikey remained in regular rotation for more than 12 years and was one of the longest continuously running commercial campaigns.[2][3]

Original commercial

[edit]

The commercial centers on three young brothers eating breakfast. Before them sits a heaping bowl of Life breakfast cereal. Two of the brothers question each other about the cereal, prodding each other to try it and noting that it is supposed to be healthy. Neither boy has any desire to taste it ("I'm not gonna try it—you try it!"), so they get their younger brother Mikey to do so ("Let's get Mikey"), noting that "he hates everything". Mikey briefly contemplates the bowl and after tasting the cereal, begins to eat it vigorously as the brothers exclaim, "He likes it! Hey Mikey!" Mikey's brothers were played by Gilchrist's actual brothers, Michael (on the left in the spot) and Tommy.[4] John is the middle child of seven children born to Tom and Pat Gilchrist of the Bronx.[citation needed].

Reception

[edit]

The commercial was very popular and won a Clio Award in 1974.[5] It has often been included in retrospectives of classic television ads. In 1999, TV Guide ranked it the No. 10 commercial of all time.[6] Despite its age, a 1999 survey found that 70% of adults could identify the spot based on just a "brief generic description."[7]

Sequels

[edit]

A series of "Today's Mikey" ads aired in the 1980s, with Gilchrist bemusedly reprising the character as a college student.[citation needed]

In 1996, Quaker Oats commissioned director Rick Schulze, of Industrial Light & Magic Commercial Productions, to digitally composite a bottle of Snapple, then a subsidiary of Quaker Oats, into the original Life ad, via longtime Snapple ad agency Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, New York. This time, however, in an ironic twist, Mikey likes some of the product's flavors while disliking the others.[8]

Life's ad agency, Foote, Cone & Belding, in Chicago, revived the Mikey character for two campaigns in the late 1990s. In 1997, Quaker Oats initiated a nationwide search for the "next Mikey", settling on 4-year-old Marli Hughes out of more than 35,000 applicants.[9] She also appeared in a TV commercial, "Better Life" directed by Howard Rose, where she is seen telling her classmates how she won the contest and traveled to New York to do some TV shows. She adds that as the new Mikey she gets to eat as much Life cereal as she wants.[10]

In 1999, Quaker Oats remade the commercial word for word with an all-adult cast acting like kids. Mikey is portrayed by New York-based actor Jimmy Starace.[11][12]

In 2024, Mikey was brought back in a commercial titled "Mikey's Morning". Played by Hudson Uebelhardt, he sings about his chaotic morning, which is made sweeter with a bowl of Life.[13]

Afterward

[edit]

For many years, Mikey was the subject of an urban legend that purported that he had died after consuming Pop Rocks and Coke, supposedly causing a fatal stomach rupture.[14] In fact, the actor who played Mikey, John Gilchrist, is still alive. Snopes later reported that the combination of Pop Rocks and Coke would do little more than produce a "hearty belch".[14]

According to Gilchrist, the legend became so widespread that his own mother received a phone call from another woman to offer condolences for the death of her son, to which Mrs. Gilchrist replied, "He just came home from school!"[14][15]

In 2011, Gilchrist became the director of media sales for MSG Network.[16] He has said that he has no clear memories of filming the original commercial since he was only three and a half years old.[15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ravo, Nick (April 8, 2000). "Robert Gage, 78, Art Director; Had a Role in Well-Known Ads". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  2. ^ Spitznagel, Eric. "Mikey: An Investigation". Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. Archived from the original on June 10, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  3. ^ "Press release". Quaker Oats (Press release). January 1, 2000.
  4. ^ "Mikey Life Cereal actor: John Gilchrist". Orlando Sentinel. December 9, 1986. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  5. ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (December 15, 2011). "Edie Stevenson Dies at 81; Wrote 'Let's Get Mikey' Ad". The New York Times. p. A32. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  6. ^ "The 50 Greatest Commercials of All Time". TV Guide. July 3, 1999.
  7. ^ "Strategic Equity Assessment for Life Cereal" (Press release). Forbes Consulting Group. August 1, 1999.
  8. ^ Nashawaty, Chris (April 9, 1996). "Coming Back to Life". Entertainment Weekly. No. 323. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  9. ^ "Life Cereal Brand History". Quaker Oats. Archived from the original on May 22, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Hume, Scott (January 19, 1998). "Hey Mikey! Meet Marli". Adweek. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  11. ^ Gilchrist, John (January 17, 2000). "World Today: Life Cereal Brings Back Mikey Commercial -- Sort of" (Interview). Interviewed by Jeanne Moos. CNN. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  12. ^ "Remember Mikey? He's back". Associated Press. January 23, 2000. Archived from the original on June 27, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "Guess who's back? Mikey returns to Life Cereal with a new ad & a big love for life". The Drum. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Mikkelson, Barbara (July 31, 2000). "Did Pop Rocks and Soda Kill 'Little Mikey'?". Snopes.
  15. ^ a b Best, Neal (November 22, 2012). "John Gilchrist, who played "Mikey" in TV ad, still likes it after all these years". Newsday. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  16. ^ Gilchrist, John. "John Gilchrist". LinkedIn. Retrieved January 9, 2024.

Further reading

[edit]

Riggs, Thomas, ed. (1999). "MIKEY Campaign". Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns. Detroit [etc.]: Gale. ISBN 0-7876-3042-X.

[edit]
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