Innovation has always been the bedrock of our progress at Post Consumer Brands. To celebrate PEBBLES 50th birthday, we’re going back to the start. One of those innovations was leveraging the popularity of the 1960’s TV cartoon show, “The Flintstones,” to help turn our PEBBLES™ cereal into a timely breakfast classic for kids and kids-at-heart everywhere.
In an attempt to boost its kids’ cereal business, Post secured innovative licensing rights from Hanna-Barbera, now part of Warner Bros., to use the Flintstones characters to rebrand its good, but underperforming Sugar Rice Krinkles cereal. After some carefully thought through formulation changes, Fruity PEBBLES and Cocoa PEBBLES cereals were introduced nationally in October 1971.
Prior to that time, character licensing had only been used for product promotions. PEBBLES cereal became the first brand created around a media character.
“The Flintstones,” which ran from 1960-1966, followed the stone-age adventures of Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their neighbors, Barney and Betty Rubble. The Rubbles had a son, Bam-Bam, and the Flintstones had a daughter, Pebbles, who inspired the cereal’s name.
The combination of a delicious product named after iconic TV characters that appealed to people of all ages made PEBBLES cereal an instant hit. Fast forward 50 years, and it’s still a hit, making families want to shout “Yabba Dabba Doo!™” just like Fred Flintstone did on the show.
To this day, PEBBLES cereal still rocks. Its amazing flavors, crispy crunchy rice and iconic characters come together to create a cereal that has inspired creativity and fun for families for decades.