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Sing for Your Breakfast: The Radio Jingle that Saved a Cereal

Home > MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds > Sing for Your Breakfast: The Radio Jingle that Saved a Cereal

Washburn-Crosby had a great breakfast cereal, Wheaties, in stores. But customers weren’t scooping it up. So, the company created a singing ad, “Have You Tried Wheaties?” – the first radio jingle in history.

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Producer: Britt Aamodt

Editorial support: Emily Krumberger

Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood

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Transcript

Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.

Washburn-Crosby had a dud on its hands. In 1924, the Minneapolis flour milling company had put its resources and reputation on the line, launching Wheaties, its first ever breakfast cereal. To secure the future of the company, Washburn-Crosby needed to diversify its product line beyond Gold Medal Flour. Wheaties was supposed to do it, only consumers weren't buying the cereal. But a company executive had an idea: what if they came up with a catchy song to advertise the cereal on radio? A couple employees knocked together some lyrics and put them to a tune borrowed from the 1919 hit "Jazz Baby.” And conveniently, the flour company owned a radio station, WCCO. On Christmas Eve, 1926, a barber shop quintet assembled in the studio located at the top of Minneapolis's Nicollet Hotel. They sang the song live on air. Not only did “Have You Tried Wheaties?” send sales skyrocketing, but it also inaugurated a new form of advertising: the singing radio ad or jingle.

MN90 is produced by AMPERS, Minnesota's community radio stations, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at MN90.org.