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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Kellogg's Snow White Wobblers

In 2005, the Kellogg Company teamed up with Disney during the 50th anniversary of Disneyland to offer a collection of weighted roly-poly toys called Wobblers. They're similar to, but larger than the popular 1970s Weebles. ("Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.") Each 3" Wobbler features a different character, 50 in all, including Snow White, the Old Witch, and Dopey.



Snow White is #41 in the series. It's made from two separate molded pieces, divided by the line that encircles the Wobbler. The bottom section is obviously the weighted end.



Each character came individually packaged in plastic wrap--sometimes it was clear, others slightly opaque. It's a little difficult to see, but the Wobbler on the right sits in its own cup.



Wobbler in plastic packaging cup.



Manufacturing divots/holes are seen along the top and bottom.



The back includes the character's name, series number, and the Disneyland 50th logo with text, "2005-2006 Happiest Celebration on Earth - Walt Disney Parks and Resorts." The imprint reads, "© Disney, Mfg. for Kellogg Co. - China/Chine C-TM."

Snow White Wobbler courtesy of Dan Alexander Dismentia



Wobbler #16 Dopey (in and out of plastic wrapper).




Wobbler #49 The Witch.




Three's company. 





Artist Matthew Colrain was the founding art team member for Creata Promotion, the agency responsible for designing the Wobbler premiums. He specialized in Disney-styled art, generating a hundred different characters for this campaign. Unfortunately, many of the designs fell short due to budget constraints. In the end, it was the most popular characters that were chosen. See a few of the artwork examples at his Down Under Designs, Inc.


Created as cereal box prizes, the Wobblers could be found inside a wide range of Kellogg's brand cereals.



Various promotions, recipes, and games might be printed on the inside panels of the box. This Rice Krispies package included an "Ask the Magic Wobbler" game.

Box courtesy of Dan Alexander Dismentia.


Tucked inside a select 1000 boxes were special certificates that entitled a fortunate consumer to a free complete set of 50 Wobblers. Read about one woman who won.


For those who weren't lucky enough to win any contests--and who'd rather not have to eat over 50 boxes of cereal--there was a happy alternative. An order form was printed on the inside of many (but not all) of the Wobbler cereal boxes. The set could be gotten simply by mailing it in along with three UPC Proof of Purchase box tops and a payment of $29.95.



The mail order set of 50 in original box.



Box cover.



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In another offer, exactly half of the Wobblers from the series were repackaged as a 25 piece Disney Parks Event collection. Not available for purchase, this one had to be won in a "Back to School Sweepstakes" sponsored by Kellogg's and ShopRite. Eligible contestants entered the contest by purchasing 4 Kellogg's or Keebler products using a ShopRite members card.

Sweepstakes winner's letter.



The Disney Parks Event collection.




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I shot this video of the Snow White Wobbler in action...



Here's a screen capture from a Kellogg's TV commercial from 2005...

7 comments:

  1. Snow White must be especially hard to draw; it seems like most products look *almost* right, but the eyes will be off, or she will look too grown up, or something. Just go back to the original art, fellas!

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    1. They started using this SW design with the theatrical re-release of the film in 1993, then throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. Not seen very often right now, but you never know.

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  2. I have several of these things. My favorite is Buzz Lightyear, but having the whole set would be awesome! Thanks for the comprehensive article.

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  3. I found three of these (Nemo, Cruella de Vil, and Pumbaa) in a bin at the Salvation Army the other day, and had no idea what they were. The first Google hit I got from typing in the text on the back of the Nemo Wobbler brought me to one of my already-favorite Disney blogs, Filmic Light! Thanks for all the information; at first, I thought they might be some kind of weirdo salt-and-pepper shakers.

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    1. I'm so glad you found the post Melissa. Never sure if the Filmic Light is popping up in Google searches or not.

      Yea, they do look a bit like oddly shaped salt-n-pepper shakers. Thanks for the comment! :)

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    2. I have the 50 collection, but I found there are 4 more which are the numbers 51 to 54, does anyone know about this 4?

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