I came across the website The Imaginary World the other day when I was looking for the name of a cereal that I remembered having once--ONCE--as a kid (we were not the "sugar cereal" kind of family. In fact, we were the anti-sugar cereal family. The bowls of puffed rice and puffed wheat that I most recall could have easily doubled as packing filler). Anyway, as soon as I found the picture of the "Freakies" cereal box, a flood of warm memories washed over me, finding that goulish rubber figure tucked near the bottom of the box. I don't remember what the cereal tasted like, but I'm sure it was sugar-laden and probably really abrasive, like a lot of those cereals were. You know, eat a bowl of Cap'n Crunch or Honeycomb ("Big Big crunch in a big, big bite!") or Cookie Crisp, then swish a dose of orange juice around in your mouth and see what I mean. Anyway, it's a fun site to go through not only to see the toys, foods and ads that you remember (or don't remember) but to get a sense of the absurdities that have passed through Madison Avenue. I like to imagine an ideas meeting where a guy raises his hand and says, "I know...how about a mascot that looks like a lit up, alcoholic Wall Street tycoon who would sooner knife you in the back or kidnap your child than serve you dinner?"
Ahh...good times.
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