The Greatest Cereal Box Prizes of All Time

If you grew up eating cereal, chances are that you opened at least one box without caring much about the cereal itself. In the US, it was kind of a tradition for kids to look inside the box and try to find the little prize before anyone else did. After all, most kids didn’t like breakfast, and that was a way to make an ordinary morning enjoyable. 

Cereal companies understood this very well. They knew that even a small toy could convince kids to ask their parents for one cereal instead of another. These well-deserved prizes included simple plastic figures, working gadgets, records, video games, and collectibles that people still search for today.

In this article, we’ll look back at the greatest cereal box prizes of all time and find out why these small surprises became such an important part of snack history.

1. Cap’n Crunch Bo’sun Whistle

As if Cap’n Crunch cereal wasn’t innovative enough with its naval theme and famous cartoon captain, the brand once introduced a working whistle to its boxes. It happened in the 1960s, when the manufacturer, Quaker Oats, decided to put a small plastic bosun’s whistle in boxes of everybody’s favorite cereal. 

Initially, it looked like any other toy, but soon, phone hobbyists known as “phone phreaks” noticed that its pitch was almost exactly 2600 hertz. This tone turned out to be suitable as a signal for AT&T’s long-distance telephone network. As a result, phreaks could route calls without paying for them by just grabbing this cereal box.

This trick soon became famous, and John Draper, the person most closely associated with it, even got the nickname “Captain Crunch.” Nobody would have predicted this kind of accidental discovery back then. Yes, you may expect uncertain luck while exploring betting apps in Alberta, but not when opening a random Cap’n Crunch cereal box.

2. Chex Quest CD-ROM

If a small plastic toy sounds like a generous cereal prize, imagine opening a box and discovering an entire computer game. That’s exactly what happened in 1996, when boxes of Chex cereal included a CD-ROM with a video game, Chex Quest. Back then, it wasn’t easy to download games, and most people used to purchase computer games separately. Therefore, receiving one with an ordinary box of cereal really was a big thing for kids those days.

Chex cereal was already very popular as the main ingredient in homemade Chex Mix, but Chex Quest gave the brand a new identity. This game didn’t feature the violent elements from Doom anymore, and therefore, parents had much less reason to worry about their children playing it.

3. Kellogg’s Baking Powder Submarine

When it comes to nostalgic cereal box prizes, few were as impressive as Kellogg’s baking powder submarine. Unlike many plastic toys that looked interesting, this miniature submarine actually did something. Before that, chances are that you didn’t really know the difference between baking soda and baking powder. But thanks to this cereal box, kids learned that baking powder could make a toy dive and return to the surface all by itself.

All they had to do was to place a small amount of baking powder inside a small chamber and put the submarine in water. As the powder became wet, it produced carbon dioxide bubbles that lifted the toy. That way, their regular breakfasts became much more fun. 

4. Honeycomb Miniature License Plates

A miniature license plate doesn’t really sound like an exciting cereal prize, right? Well, for kids in the 1980s, it certainly was. Honeycomb cereal placed small replicas of US state license plates inside special boxes, and that’s how they turned an ordinary breakfast into a collecting challenge for kids and adults alike. 

The goal of this little challenge was to find plates from all 50 states. Since every box contained only one, children had to keep buying the cereal, trade duplicates with their friends, or order the complete collection through the mail. The plates could also be attached to bicycles, bedroom doors, school bags, or anything else children wanted to personalize.

5. Star Wars Light-Up Saber Spoons

The final cereal prize on our list could turn an ordinary bowl of cereal into breakfast in a galaxy far, far away. In 2005, Kellogg’s wanted to celebrate the release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and for this, the brand placed light-up Saber Spoons inside some of their cereal boxes.

However, these prizes weren’t ordinary plastic spoons with a Star Wars picture printed on the handle. They had a button that activated a light inside the transparent spoon, which resulted in a miniature lightsaber. They were available in red, blue, and green, so opening a new box also meant discovering which side of the Force had joined you for breakfast.

Bottom Line

After reading this article, chances are that a strange feeling of nostalgia for childhood mornings has already returned. Cereal box prizes were rarely expensive, but it was never about the price. Nothing could compare to the feeling of discovering a small figure inside the package of a cereal that would feel random without those prizes. That’s how US children could enjoy their breakfast and turn an ordinary morning into a celebration.