Free stuff in cereal packets - 80s

Free stuff in cereal packets - 80s

Author
Discussion

thismonkeyhere

Original Poster:

10,385 posts

232 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
Does this even happen nowadays? Used to get some great stuff when I was a kid (80s, mostly). Haven't seen anything for a long time, but it may be I am buying the wrong cereal.

Some I remember:
Weird picture things from films ('The Black Hole' was one iirc) thatn you coloured in and then put in the oven to shrink them? (Shreddies, I think)
A variety of tiny (around 5cm length) vintage aeroplane models.
Spokey Dokeys.
Small plastic flying discs with a little thing to fire them.
Those rubbery half-spheres that you turn inside out, place on a flat surface, then wait for them to pop and jump up.
Spokey dokeys.

And loads more!!

Good times....

TwigtheWonderkid

43,402 posts

151 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
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A cousin of my grandmother invented the idea of free stuff in cereal back in the 60s, and then expanded the business to do world cup coins etc with Esso fuel in 1970. And onwards from there. Ended up with a huge marketing firm and made millions. Still got the complete set of 1970 WC coins in the loft.

wseed

1,520 posts

131 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
thismonkeyhere said:
....
Weird picture things from films ('The Black Hole' was one iirc) thatn you coloured in and then put in the oven to shrink them? (Shreddies, I think)
They where Shrinky Dinks, I used to love shreddies as a kid almost as good as a free toy was finding the failed manufacturing process had left a 3 or 4 joined shreddies.

Jonny_

4,128 posts

208 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
Spoken Dokeys! Oh yes!

If you were doing walking pace, your bike made an amusing tinkling sound as the things slid up and down the spokes.

There were the Kellogg's reflector things too - made in the shape of their cockerel logo, in various colours. If you didn't have these on your bike in the late 80s/early 90s, it marked you out as the kid whose mum bought Kwik Save "No Frills" cereal!

aka_kerrly

12,419 posts

211 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
Jonny_ said:
Spoken Dokeys! Oh yes!

If you were doing walking pace, your bike made an amusing tinkling sound as the things slid up and down the spokes.

There were the Kellogg's reflector things too - made in the shape of their cockerel logo, in various colours. If you didn't have these on your bike in the late 80s/early 90s, it marked you out as the kid whose mum bought Kwik Save "No Frills" cereal!
So so true!!



Kelloggs also did promotions where you could collect tokens in exchange for bowls. All I remember as a young child was my mum & me eating tonnes of Corn Flakes and Rice Crispies but as a result I still have these 4 bowls which must be over 25 years old now!



Oakey

27,592 posts

217 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
You don't seem to get free anything these days.

What happened to collecting points at petrol stations to exchange for items such as model cars? Who didn't want to buy £30,000 worth of petrol to get that 1:12 scale model of an XJ220 from Shell?

Aldos Army

253 posts

191 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
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I remember the Kellogs bowls, but sure our ones looked like these:


Eric Mc

122,053 posts

266 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
I got these free from Kellogs through a 1993 promotion -


ecsrobin

17,129 posts

166 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
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I had the record cars, and spitfire and hurricane plus the reflectors and all that. Recently Kellogg's did collect 3 codes get a spoon, so I now have a Tony the Tiger spoon with my name on.......

soad

32,906 posts

177 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
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justanother5tar

1,314 posts

126 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
What the fk is a 'Spokey Dokey'?

soad

32,906 posts

177 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
justanother5tar said:
What the fk is a 'Spokey Dokey'?

Gretchen

19,039 posts

217 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
wseed said:
thismonkeyhere said:
....
Weird picture things from films ('The Black Hole' was one iirc) thatn you coloured in and then put in the oven to shrink them? (Shreddies, I think)
They where Shrinky Dinks, I used to love shreddies as a kid almost as good as a free toy was finding the failed manufacturing process had left a 3 or 4 joined shreddies.
I'm sure my friend and I used to make Shrinkies with regular crisp packets by baking them in the oven, and then fashioning them in to keyrings.

And Tazos/Pogs? From crisp packets - I had the entire Star Wars set in an album.

It's all Legoland adults go free vouchers now. There's no fun in tipping the cereal out to find the freebie before anyone else anymore. I just do it for the hell of it now.



redtwin

7,518 posts

183 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
Not quite the same thing, but there are some halfway decent toys in McD kids meals these days. Just got one (no, not for me) last week that had a sound activated Minion in it. Proper winds the dog up when it responds to her barks. hehe

aka_kerrly

12,419 posts

211 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
I got these free from Kellogs through a 1993 promotion -

I have a set of those, didn't remember those were courtesy of Kelloggs to!

justanother5tar

1,314 posts

126 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
soad said:
Fanks.

What do they do? Clip onto the spokes? Is that it?

iambeowulf

712 posts

173 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
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No. They made your bike go faster, turn sharper, jump higher, stop quicker and you'd get more girlfriends.

Stupid boy.

Big Pants

505 posts

142 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
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We made our own entertainment in those days... Or found it in a bag in the woods.

BristolRich

545 posts

134 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
justanother5tar said:
Fanks.

What do they do? Clip onto the spokes? Is that it?
When the wheel rotates they make a clacking noise until centrifugal force takes over as you peg it home in time for Terrahawks or Mysterious Cities of Gold.

https://youtu.be/HNAvyylK5Wo

Cardiff_Exile

338 posts

177 months

Tuesday 30th June 2015
quotequote all
I used to love the space aliens with Ready Brek that you scratched off like letraset to landscapes printed on the rear of the box - late 70s I guess

I remember milk bottles with breakfast logos in the early 80s that my dad took to work and cut the tops off so we could use them as glasses in the house