Little Mikey
Encyclopedia
Little Mikey was a character of a young boy played by John Gilchrist in an American television
commercial
created by art director Bob Gage (who also directed the commercial) and copywriter Edie Mann of the Doyle Dane Bernbach
agency
for Quaker Oats to promote their breakfast cereal, Life
.
First airing in 1972
, the popular commercial would be in regular rotation for more than twelve years, ending up as one of the longest continuously running commercial campaigns ever aired.
ic commercial centers on three brothers eating breakfast
. There lying 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. 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, Mikey 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.
The advertisement was very popular and was often referenced in retrospectives of classic television advertisements: in 1999, TV Guide
ranked it as the #10 commercial of all time. Despite the commercial's age, a 1999 survey noted that 70% of adults could identify the spot based on just a "brief generic description."
In 1996 Quaker Oats, via longtime Snapple
ad agency Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, New York, 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. This time, however, in an ironic twist, Mikey doesn't like the product.
Life's ad agency Foote, Cone & Belding in Chicago resuscitated 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. 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 travelled 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. 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.
spread that the unknown actor who played Little Mikey had died after eating an unexpectedly lethal combination of Pop Rocks
(a type of carbonated
hard candy
) and soda, causing his stomach to inflate with carbon dioxide. However, as Pop Rocks contain less carbon dioxide than half a can of soda, the legend is false.
Introduced in 1975, Pop Rocks fizz and pop when dissolved in the mouth. The popping sensation is caused by highly compressed carbon dioxide
bubbles in the candy. The belief in the spread of the rumor is that the carbonation in the candy, when mixed inside the human stomach
with a carbonated beverage, would create a lethal reaction where carbon dioxide would be released at such a rapid rate that the stomach would explode, presumably killing the person who ate the candy and drank the soda.
As with most urban legends, there are variations of the myth. Other versions involve Fizzies
candy instead of Pop Rocks, or other child actors (Mason Reese
for instance) who have been noted as the victim. It is entirely unknown why Little Mikey was the target of the myth, though some believe that it is because the actor who played Mikey did not appear in any commercials after the legend began to spread.
The myth has been thoroughly debunked in multiple media, including Snopes and the first episode of the television series MythBusters
: the actor who played Mikey is still alive today, and there simply is not enough gas produced in the combination of the candy and soda to cause an explosion.
During the height of the rumors of the possible lethality of such a combination, General Foods
, the manufacturer of Pop Rocks, spent thousands of dollars on print advertisements trying to debunk the rumor. General Foods ceased marketing Pop Rocks in 1983, and this fact has been used as supposed proof that the rumor is true. However, further disproving the myth, the product was not removed from stores at all, but was sold to Kraft Foods
in 1985, and is now distributed by a company called Pop Rocks, Inc.
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
created by art director Bob Gage (who also directed the commercial) and copywriter Edie Mann of the Doyle Dane Bernbach
DDB Worldwide
DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc., known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group Inc, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies...
agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
for Quaker Oats to promote their breakfast cereal, Life
Life (cereal)
Life is a breakfast cereal made of whole grain oats, distributed by the Quaker Oats Company. It was introduced in 1961. The cereal's advertisements currently sport the slogan "Life is full of surprises".- History :...
.
First airing in 1972
1972 in television
The year 1972 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1972.For the American TV schedule, see: 1972-73 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, the popular commercial would be in regular rotation for more than twelve years, ending up as one of the longest continuously running commercial campaigns ever aired.
Original commercial
The iconIcon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
ic commercial centers on three brothers eating breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
. There lying before them sits a heaping bowl of Life breakfast cereal
Breakfast cereal
A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...
. Two of the brothers question each other about the cereal, prodding each other to try it. 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, Mikey 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.
The advertisement was very popular and was often referenced in retrospectives of classic television advertisements: in 1999, TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
ranked it as the #10 commercial of all time. Despite the commercial's age, a 1999 survey noted that 70% of adults could identify the spot based on just a "brief generic description."
Sequels
A series of "Today's Mikey" ads, with Gilchrist reprising the character as a college student, aired in the mid-1980s.In 1996 Quaker Oats, via longtime Snapple
Snapple
Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group and based in Plano, Texas. The brand was founded in 1972. The brand achieved some notoriety due to various pop-culture references including television shows.-History:...
ad agency Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, New York, commissioned director Rick Schulze of Industrial Light & Magic Commercial Productions to digitally composite
Digital compositing
Digital compositing is the process of digitally assembling multiple images to make a final image, typically for print, motion pictures or screen display...
a bottle of Snapple, then a subsidiary of Quaker Oats, into the original Life ad. This time, however, in an ironic twist, Mikey doesn't like the product.
Life's ad agency Foote, Cone & Belding in Chicago resuscitated 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. 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 travelled 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. 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.
Urban legend
A few years after the commercial appeared, an urban legendUrban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
spread that the unknown actor who played Little Mikey had died after eating an unexpectedly lethal combination of Pop Rocks
Pop Rocks
Pop Rocks is a carbonated candy with ingredients including sugar, lactose , corn syrup, and flavoring. It differs from typical hard candy in that it creates a fizzy reaction when it dissolves in one's mouth.-Background and history:...
(a type of carbonated
Carbonation
Carbonation is the process of dissolving carbon dioxide in water. The process usually involves carbon dioxide under high pressure. When the pressure is reduced, the carbon dioxide is released from the solution as small bubbles, which cause the solution to "fizz." This effect is seen in carbonated...
hard candy
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
) and soda, causing his stomach to inflate with carbon dioxide. However, as Pop Rocks contain less carbon dioxide than half a can of soda, the legend is false.
Introduced in 1975, Pop Rocks fizz and pop when dissolved in the mouth. The popping sensation is caused by highly compressed carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
bubbles in the candy. The belief in the spread of the rumor is that the carbonation in the candy, when mixed inside the human stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
with a carbonated beverage, would create a lethal reaction where carbon dioxide would be released at such a rapid rate that the stomach would explode, presumably killing the person who ate the candy and drank the soda.
As with most urban legends, there are variations of the myth. Other versions involve Fizzies
Fizzies
-Origin:Lem Billings, a friend of President John F. Kennedy, invented the idea for Emerson Drug Company, manufacturer of Bromo-Seltzer, by adding a fruit flavor that children liked. Once perfected, Emerson named the creation Fizzies. The tablet was dropped into a glass of water, then fizzed and...
candy instead of Pop Rocks, or other child actors (Mason Reese
Mason Reese
Mason Reese is a former child actor who appeared in numerous television commercials in the 1970s, particularly for Underwood Deviled Ham, Post Raisin Bran, and Dunkin' Donuts' Dunkin' Munchkins-brand "donut holes"...
for instance) who have been noted as the victim. It is entirely unknown why Little Mikey was the target of the myth, though some believe that it is because the actor who played Mikey did not appear in any commercials after the legend began to spread.
The myth has been thoroughly debunked in multiple media, including Snopes and the first episode of the television series MythBusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
: the actor who played Mikey is still alive today, and there simply is not enough gas produced in the combination of the candy and soda to cause an explosion.
During the height of the rumors of the possible lethality of such a combination, General Foods
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...
, the manufacturer of Pop Rocks, spent thousands of dollars on print advertisements trying to debunk the rumor. General Foods ceased marketing Pop Rocks in 1983, and this fact has been used as supposed proof that the rumor is true. However, further disproving the myth, the product was not removed from stores at all, but was sold to Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
in 1985, and is now distributed by a company called Pop Rocks, Inc.
Literature
External links
- The commercial can be seen here on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. - Discovery Channel's Mythbusters video busting the myth.