Matthew Weiner's commitment to authenticity is second to none. His Mad Men series is a televised portal back in time, a weekly peek into 1960s Manhattan, the advertising industry, and all it entails--booze, cigarettes, depression, submissive wives, etc.
But the 1960s were also a time of celebrity-endorsed breakfast cereals, and on last night's episode of Mad Men, Don Draper referenced the Rolling Stones' 1960s UK Rice Krispies ad.
Watch the Stones push cereal, Jackson 5 sing about Alpha Bits, and the Monkees force-feed Peter Tork some Rice Krispies after the cut.
Rolling Stones for Rice Krispies
Well before the Rolling Stones lent "Start Me Up" to Microsoft's Windows 95 ad campaign, the lads from London were singing jingles for Rice Krispies back home in England. Some speculate that it wasn't drugs that tore Keith Richards' face up; it was that damn sugar.
Jackson 5 for Alpha Bits
What came first, Alpha Bits or the Jackson 5's hit "ABC?" Well, the alphabet-shaped corn puffs were introduced in 1958, 12-years ahead of the quintet's 1970s hit.
The Patridge Family for Rice Krispies
The Monkees for Rice Krispies
Arguably the greatest bass-playing keyboardist in manufactured pop rock history, Pete Tork was "sinking fast," falling ill after going hungry for an extended period of time. Thankfully, the Monkees were there to force-feed him back to recovery.
Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin Ed McMahon for Budweiser
You're thinking, what does beer have to do with breakfast? Well, in Frank and Dino's Ed's case, booze was the true breakfast of champions. Real American men, like Old Blue Eyes and the King of Coo Johnny Carson's sidekick, drink Budweiser in the morning and make racially insensitive comments about Native Americans. Love it or leave it, hippies.
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