

“I’d ask myself ‘What’s gonna appeal to the most kids?’ Then I would ask how we can make it funny.” “I would look at People Magazine and go to Toys”R”Us, watch music videos, and consume any music or cultural phenomenon that was currently popular,” Germanetti says. Or how rappers like MC Hammer exploded on the music scene? Meet Barney Rubble, AKA “The Master Rapper!” Remember how courtroom series, like Judge Judy, blew up on daytime TV? There’s a “Cocoa Court” spot that parodies those shows.

Which commercials are among Germanetti’s favorites? She has a soft spot for working on commercials that not only let Barney trick Fred, but spoofed pop culture trends during the 1980s and 1990s. Fruity PEBBLES added purple in 1985, lime green in 1988, berry blue in 1994, and Bedrock berry pink in 2005. “If Barney is willing to get all those costumes and go to great lengths to get the cereal, it’s communicating to the kids that this is great cereal.” Keeping Fruity and Cocoa PEBBLES Cool!Īs the decades progressed, so has the fruity flavor lineup in Fruity PEBBLES. “This campaign tells kids that the cereal must be pretty darn good if somebody is trying to take it all the time,” Germanetti says.

He believes his tricks are worth it because Fred’s cereal is so yabba dabba delicious. A bite or two after his identity is discovered, Barney dashes off with a witty pun. These schemes are typically foiled, but it’s all in good fun. Barney believes he must do a crazy antic, like dressing up as a genie or an angel, to get a bowl of PEBBLES. Germanetti describes Barney as the craver and Fred as the protector of the cereal.
Barney pebbles full#
How about the time Barney disguised himself as a lion? What about his stint as a “cocoaerobics” instructor? Or the multiple moments Barney impersonated Santa Claus for a bowl full of PEBBLES? You probably remember a few of the “Watch Me Trick Fred!” storylines. Germanetti wrote these campaign spots for 32 years between 19. This campaign was the brainchild of Alice Germanetti, former Creative Director for the Post Cereals account at Ogilvy & Mather. In 1978, Fruity and Cocoa PEBBLES Cereal grew to become Post’s second largest brand thanks to the “Watch Me Trick Fred!” ad campaign. Yabba dabba doo! The caveman gets a triumphant burst of energy from eating PEBBLES that propels him out of the well and into the crowd where he can share more PEBBLES with Fred and Barney. How do they get him out? It’s simple: just lower two bowls of PEBBLES Cereal into the well. This point was later proved in a commercial spot where Fred and Barney rescue a caveman that fell down a well. Fred Flintstone describes its taste as “a bowl of noisy fruit!” Meanwhile, Barney describes Cocoa PEBBLES as “cocoa, mocho good!”Įarly commercial spots played up the fun tagline that putting sweet PEBBLES in your mouth would keep rocks out of your head.
Barney pebbles series#
Reed and Blanc voiced Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in the TV series respectively and continued their voiceover for the characters well into PEBBLES commercials.įruity PEBBLES originally debuted its crispy rice cereal in three colors: red, orange, and yellow. The earliest PEBBLES TV commercials featured voiceover work from actors Alan Reed and Mel Blanc. Grab your bowl and pour the milk! Here are some of PEBBLES cereal’s most historic (or should we say prehistoric?) achievements over the decades. Even the name of the cereal is a nod to the beloved cartoon: Pebbles is the name of Fred and Wilma Flintstone’s daughter! Inspired by Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, the popular lead characters from the TV series The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera (now part of Warner Bros.) established a licensing agreement in 1971 to create Post PEBBLES cereal. PEBBLES Cereal is the first brand ever created around a media character. Yabba dabba doo - PEBBLES Cereal is 50 years old!
