Trix (cereal)

File:Trix box 2005.jpg

Trix is a popular brand of breakfast cereal made by General Mills. The cereal consists of fruit-flavored, sweetened, ground-corn pieces. These were originally round cereal pieces, but were later changed to puffed fruit-shaped pieces.

Trix cereal was first marketed in 1954. The original character on the Trix box from 1954 to 1959 was a stick figure boy. In August 1959, on a request of the copy supervisor of General Mills ad agency to come up with an identity for the brand, Joe Harris created an anthropomorphic cartoon rabbit; in Trix animated television commercials this rabbit (voiced by Delo States) would keep trying to trick kids into giving him a bowl of Trix cereal, but he would be discovered every time, and the kids would say "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids." After the success of the first commercial in 1959, the Trix brand soon became one of General Mills's best sellers. Much like Warner Brothers's Wile E. Coyote, the Trix Rabbit's constant struggle to obtain the unobtainable elicits a degree of sympathy from many viewers. Little did Harris know that what began as a simple marketing ploy became a revolution in how cereal was marketed.

The phrase "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!" has appeared in numerous pop-culture references, including musicians Public Enemy, Quentin Tarantino films, and Family Guy.

General Mills's Yoplait division also produces a Trix yogurt, with fruit flavors also aimed at kids.

Ad campaigns

In 1991, one of Trix's television ads ended in a cliffhanger accompanied by a write-in survey asking children whether or not the Trix Rabbit should be able to finally get a taste of Trix. America's children responded "yes" to the survey, and a following television ad depicted the rabbit finally getting to eat a bowl of Trix cereal uncaught.

In 1992 Trix cereal changed by having fruit-shaped replace the original round ball pieces. Also, four new flavors were added: Grapity purple (1980), Lime green (1991), Wildberry blue (1998), and Watermelon (1999). In 1995 the cereal pieces took on a brighter and more colorful look.

In mid 2003 the rabbit was missing from boxes of Trix during a "Solve The Great Trix Train Robbery" promotion. In his place were five suspects (Willy Gettum, Bunny O'Hare, F. Rudy Flavors, "Wild" Barry Blue, and Sally Rabbit) who could have stolen the Trix.

In a 2004 Trix television ad, the rabbit steals the Trix and hides it, but he gets hit on the head with a coconut, and so when he tries to tell the kids where the cereal is, he says "Kannufrutestoneahhappeyleef". On cereal boxes and the official website, kids had to unjumble the message to find out what he said. (The solution was "elephant's trunk"; referring not to the nose of an elephant but rather his treasure chest.)

Since then, the commercials begin with the rabbit having successfully managed to snatch the cereal, only to have the kids confuse him long enough for them to snatch it back.

In a Got Milk? commercial ad, the rabbit is disguised as a teenager in a supermarket. He buys a box of Trix, and the cashier says to him, "Trix? Trix are for kids." The rabbit returns to his home mumbling the phrase "Trix are for kids". Excited, he pours himself a bowl, but when he is about to add milk, he discovers there's no milk left in the carton. The commercial ends with the Got Milk? screen.

TagLines

• Silly Rabbit, Trix are for Kids!

Trivia

• In the children's book Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman by Dav Pilkey, George and Harold say, " Silly rabbit tricks are for kids!"
• In "Cattle and the Creeping Things" from The Hold Steady's album Separation Sunday, the tagline is paraphased in the line "Silly rabbit/Tripping is for teenagers"

External links

• Official page
• Silly Rabbit
• Trix cereal on cereal.com