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'''Little Mikey''' was a character played by John Gilchrist in an [[Television in the United States|American television]] [[television advertisement|commercial]], created by [[William Bernbach]] <ref name=Bern>[http://www.ciadvertising.org/student_account/fall_00/adv382j/christiana/life.html "Bernbach Biography"]</ref> of the [[Doyle Dane Bernbach]] [[Advertising agency|agency]] for [[Quaker Oats]], to promote their client's breakfast cereal, [[Life (cereal)|Life]].
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First airing in [[1972 in television|1972]], the popular commercial would be in regular rotation for more than twelve years, ending up as one of the longest continuously running commercial campaigns ever aired.<ref name=McS>[http://mcsweeneys.net/2002/10/07mikey.html "Mikey: An Investigation"] by Eric Spitznagel from ''[[Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern]]''.</ref><ref name=Quaker>[http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/PressReleases/PressRelease.cfm?ID=119 January 2000 press release from Quaker Oats]</ref>
=== October 11 ===
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==== NEW NOMINATIONS ====
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A few years after the commercial's debut, an [[urban legend]] developed that the actor who had played Little Mikey had died soon afterward when his stomach exploded after consuming [[Pop Rocks]] and [[soft drink|soda]]. The myth &mdash; long since disproved as both nonfactual (as John Gilchrist is still alive) and scientifically improbable (as the chemicals in both Pop Rocks and soda are not capable of exploding a human stomach) &mdash; still resurfaces every few years, usually surrounding an identifiable child actor.<ref name=Urban>[http://w3.uwyo.edu/~jviles/myths.htm ''Urban Myths''] by Justin Viles and J.C. Navarro. </ref>
==== Category:Limited Brands ====
:'''Propose renaming''' [[:Category:Limited Brands]] to [[:Category:Limited Brands brands]]
==The commercial==
:'''Propose renaming''' [[:Category:Fortune Brands]] to [[:Category:Fortune Brands brands]]
The [[icon]]ic commercial centers on three brothers eating [[breakfast]]. There lying before them sits a heaping bowl of Life [[breakfast cereal]]. Two of the brothers question each other about the cereal, prodding each other to try it. Noting that it is supposed to be healthy, neither wants to try it ("I'm not gonna try it — ''you'' try it!"), so they get their brother Mikey to try it ("Let's get Mikey,"), noting, "he hates everything." Mikey briefly stares at the bowl. After moments of contemplation, Mikey begins to vigorously consume the cereal before him, resulting in his brothers excitedly exclaiming, "He likes it! Hey, Mikey!" John's brothers in the commercial are his actual brothers and one of them is named Michael (he is on the left in the spot).
:'''Propose renaming''' [[:Category:Darden Restaurants]] to [[:Category:Darden Restaurants brands]]
:'''Nominator's rationale:''' '''Rename'''. Brand categories follow the convention of [[:Category:company name brands]]. Since this is the category for brands, the category name should reflect this. I realize that the name does appear somewhat confusing, but it does match the form used for most of the other brand categories. [[User:Vegaswikian|Vegaswikian]] ([[User talk:Vegaswikian|talk]]) 07:31, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
*'''Rename''' per nom. [[User:Johnbod|Johnbod]] ([[User talk:Johnbod|talk]]) 12:57, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
*'''Comment''' I added a second category to this nomination. [[User:Vegaswikian|Vegaswikian]] ([[User talk:Vegaswikian|talk]]) 18:11, 11 October 2008 (UTC)


The commercial starred child commercial actor John Gilchrist and his brothers.<ref name=CNN>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0001/17/wt.08.html Transcript] from a [[CNN]] report from January 17, 2000.</ref> The advertisement was very popular and was often referenced in retrospectives of classic television advertisements: in 1999, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked it as the number ten commercial of all time.<ref name=TVG>"The 50 Greatest Commercials of All Time," ''[[TV Guide]]'' magazine, [[July 3]] [[1999]].</ref> In 1997, Quaker Oats initiated a nation-wide search for the "next Mikey," settling on 4-year-old Marli Hughes out of more than 35,000 applicants.<ref name= New>[http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/BrandInfo/BrandDetail.cfm?BrandID=8&section=brandhistory Life Cereal Brand History] from Quaker Oats.</ref> Quaker Oats would again come back to the commercial, remaking it word-for-word in 1999 with an all-adult cast.<ref name=CNN>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0001/17/wt.08.html Transcript] from a [[CNN]] report from January 17, 2000.</ref> Despite the commercial's age, a 1999 survey noted that 70% of adults could identify the spot based on just a "brief generic description."<ref name=Forbes>Strategic Equity Assessment for Life Cereal, Forbes Consulting Group, August 1999 (cited [http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_PressRoom/PressReleases/PressRelease.cfm?ID=119 here)].</ref>
==== Category:Indian people in history ====
:[[:Category:Indian people in history]] - {{lc1|Indian people in history}}<br />
:'''Nominator's rationale:''' '''Delete'''. All people are "in history". Category is essentially redundant to [[:Category:Indian people]] and its many subcategories. Creator may have meant "Indian people who lived a long time ago", judging by the (few) contents of the category. <code>Notified creator with <nowiki>{{</nowiki>[[Template:cfd-notify|subst:cfd-notify]]}}</code> [[User:Good Olfactory|Good Ol’factory]] <sup>[[User talk:Good Olfactory|(talk)]]</sup> 07:29, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
*'''Delete''' per nom. Not the way to do it. [[User:Johnbod|Johnbod]] ([[User talk:Johnbod|talk]]) 12:37, 11 October 2008 (UTC)


==Urban legend==
==== Category:Military Schools ====
A few years after the commercial appeared, an [[urban legend]] began to spread that the unknown actor who played Little Mikey had died after eating an unexpectedly lethal combination of [[Pop Rocks]] (a type of [[carbonation|carbonated]] [[candy|hard candy]]) and soda.<ref name=Snopes>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp "Pop Rocks"] from the [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]].</ref>
:'''Propose renaming''' [[:Category:Military Schools]] to [[:Category:Military Schools in India]]
:'''Nominator's rationale:''' '''Rename'''. The current name is rather misleading. It is a sub category of [[:Category:Military education and training in India]]. The category also begins with the following short description of the category: ''The military schools in India were started in 1925 with establishment of Chail Military School (King George Royal Indian Military College) and later on Ajmer, Bangalore, Belgaum and Dholpur were started by Govt. of India.'' [[User:Dbiel|Dbiel]] <sup>([[User talk:Dbiel|Talk]])</sup> 05:19, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
:I failed to notice that this category was just created today. So now I am not sure if the category should be renamed or deleted. Just raising the question [[User:Dbiel|Dbiel]] <sup>([[User talk:Dbiel|Talk]])</sup> 05:31, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
*'''Merge''' - to the pre-existing [[:Category:Indian military academies]] (although that category should probably be "Military academies in India"). [[User:Otto4711|Otto4711]] ([[User talk:Otto4711|talk]]) 05:51, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
*No, except I think for [[Chail Military School]] which takes boys 10-18 & should be moved to this cat, the academies are all for adults, whereas the schools are all for boys. '''Rename''' per nom. But there is a problem with the whole category tree - following US vocabulary, [[:Category:United States military academies]] joins both of these, whereas the other national categories mostly just have the institutions for serving military, like the US [[Naval War College]]. Globally, a military academy is understood as one of the latter. We should not enforce merging institutions for 10 year old boys with those for 30 yr-old captains, and should be working towards national cats that distinguish these types, though joined at some level, like [[:Category:Military education and training in the United States]]. Both these are in [[:Category:Military education and training in India]], so that's fine. ([[User talk:Johnbod|talk]]) 12:40, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
* '''Rename''' per nom, but should it not be 'schools' (lowercase)? [[User:Occuli|Occuli]] ([[User talk:Occuli|talk]]) 12:58, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
:*'''Comment''' I agree that the new name should be [[:Category:Military schools in India]], lower case, that was my error in the original posting. If it is proper to change it in the middle of the discussion, feel free to do so, I am not experienced enought to know if that change is proper at this point in the discussion, but it does need to be done. Thanks for catching my error. [[User:Dbiel|Dbiel]] <sup>([[User talk:Dbiel|Talk]])</sup> 16:31, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
::I have updated the tag on the category page to reflect the correct new proposed name. [[User:Dbiel|Dbiel]] <sup>([[User talk:Dbiel|Talk]])</sup> 17:12, 11 October 2008 (UTC)


Introduced in 1975, Pop Rocks would, as the name suggests, pop in the mouth of anyone who ate them. This popping sensation is caused by highly compressed [[carbon dioxide]] bubbles in the candy. The belief in the spread of the rumor is that the carbonation in the candy, when mixed inside the human [[stomach]] with a carbonated beverage, would create a lethal reaction where carbon dioxide would be released at such a rapid rate that the stomach would explode, presumably killing the person who ate the candy and drank the soda.<ref name=Snopes>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp "Pop Rocks"] from the [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]].</ref>


As with all urban legends, there are variations of the myth. Other versions involve [[Fizzies]] candy instead of Pop Rocks, or other child actors who have been noted as the victim. It is entirely unknown why Little Mikey was the target of the myth,<ref name=Snopes>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp "Pop Rocks"] from the [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]].</ref> though some believe that it is because the actor who played Mikey did not appear in any commercials after the legend began to spread.<ref name=McS>[http://mcsweeneys.net/2002/10/07mikey.html "Mikey: An Investigation"] by Eric Spitznagel from ''[[Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern]]''.</ref><ref name=Snopes>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp "Pop Rocks"] from the [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]].</ref>
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In any event, the myth has been thoroughly debunked in multiple media, including [[Snopes]]<ref name=Snopes>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp "Pop Rocks"] from the [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]].</ref> and the first episode of the television series ''[[MythBusters]]'':<ref name=MB>[http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/00to49/episode_11.html Episode Guide] from the ''[[MythBusters]]'' website on [[Discovery channel|Discovery.com]].</ref> The actor who played Mikey is still alive today, and there simply is not enough gas produced in the combination of the candy and soda to cause an explosion.<ref name=MB2>Noted from the ''[[MythBusters]]'' episode noted above.</ref>

Nevertheless, during the height of the rumors of the possible lethality of such a combination, [[General Foods]], the manufacturer of Pop Rocks, spent thousands of dollars on print advertisements trying to debunk the rumor.<ref name=Snopes>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp "Pop Rocks"] from the [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]].</ref> General Foods ceased marketing Pop Rocks in 1983, and this fact has been used as supposed proof that the rumor is true.<ref name=Snopes>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp "Pop Rocks"] from the [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]].</ref> However, further disproving the myth, the product was not removed from stores at all, but was sold to [[Kraft Foods]] in 1985, and is now distributed by a company called Pop Rocks, Inc.<ref name=PRI>[http://www.poprockscandy.com/history.html Pop Rocks product history] from Pop Rocks Inc.</ref>

==Notes and references==
<div class="references-small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
*{{imdb name|1965418|John Gilchrist Jr.}}
*The commercial can be seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEXzx-TINc here] on [[YouTube]].

[[Category:Cereal advertising characters]]
[[Category:Television commercials]]
[[Category:Urban legends]]

Revision as of 18:35, 11 October 2008

Little Mikey was a character played by John Gilchrist in an American television commercial, created by William Bernbach [1] of the Doyle Dane Bernbach agency for Quaker Oats, to promote their client's breakfast cereal, Life.

First airing in 1972, the popular commercial would be in regular rotation for more than twelve years, ending up as one of the longest continuously running commercial campaigns ever aired.[2][3]

A few years after the commercial's debut, an urban legend developed that the actor who had played Little Mikey had died soon afterward when his stomach exploded after consuming Pop Rocks and soda. The myth — long since disproved as both nonfactual (as John Gilchrist is still alive) and scientifically improbable (as the chemicals in both Pop Rocks and soda are not capable of exploding a human stomach) — still resurfaces every few years, usually surrounding an identifiable child actor.[4]

The commercial

The iconic commercial centers on three brothers eating breakfast. There lying before them sits a heaping bowl of Life breakfast cereal. Two of the brothers question each other about the cereal, prodding each other to try it. Noting that it is supposed to be healthy, neither wants to try it ("I'm not gonna try it — you try it!"), so they get their brother Mikey to try it ("Let's get Mikey,"), noting, "he hates everything." Mikey briefly stares at the bowl. After moments of contemplation, Mikey begins to vigorously consume the cereal before him, resulting in his brothers excitedly exclaiming, "He likes it! Hey, Mikey!" John's brothers in the commercial are his actual brothers and one of them is named Michael (he is on the left in the spot).

The commercial starred child commercial actor John Gilchrist and his brothers.[5] The advertisement was very popular and was often referenced in retrospectives of classic television advertisements: in 1999, TV Guide ranked it as the number ten commercial of all time.[6] In 1997, Quaker Oats initiated a nation-wide search for the "next Mikey," settling on 4-year-old Marli Hughes out of more than 35,000 applicants.[7] Quaker Oats would again come back to the commercial, remaking it word-for-word in 1999 with an all-adult cast.[5] Despite the commercial's age, a 1999 survey noted that 70% of adults could identify the spot based on just a "brief generic description."[8]

Urban legend

A few years after the commercial appeared, an urban legend began to spread that the unknown actor who played Little Mikey had died after eating an unexpectedly lethal combination of Pop Rocks (a type of carbonated hard candy) and soda.[9]

Introduced in 1975, Pop Rocks would, as the name suggests, pop in the mouth of anyone who ate them. This popping sensation is caused by highly compressed carbon dioxide bubbles in the candy. The belief in the spread of the rumor is that the carbonation in the candy, when mixed inside the human stomach with a carbonated beverage, would create a lethal reaction where carbon dioxide would be released at such a rapid rate that the stomach would explode, presumably killing the person who ate the candy and drank the soda.[9]

As with all urban legends, there are variations of the myth. Other versions involve Fizzies candy instead of Pop Rocks, or other child actors who have been noted as the victim. It is entirely unknown why Little Mikey was the target of the myth,[9] though some believe that it is because the actor who played Mikey did not appear in any commercials after the legend began to spread.[2][9]

In any event, the myth has been thoroughly debunked in multiple media, including Snopes[9] and the first episode of the television series MythBusters:[10] The actor who played Mikey is still alive today, and there simply is not enough gas produced in the combination of the candy and soda to cause an explosion.[11]

Nevertheless, during the height of the rumors of the possible lethality of such a combination, General Foods, the manufacturer of Pop Rocks, spent thousands of dollars on print advertisements trying to debunk the rumor.[9] General Foods ceased marketing Pop Rocks in 1983, and this fact has been used as supposed proof that the rumor is true.[9] However, further disproving the myth, the product was not removed from stores at all, but was sold to Kraft Foods in 1985, and is now distributed by a company called Pop Rocks, Inc.[12]

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Bernbach Biography"
  2. ^ a b "Mikey: An Investigation" by Eric Spitznagel from Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern.
  3. ^ January 2000 press release from Quaker Oats
  4. ^ Urban Myths by Justin Viles and J.C. Navarro.
  5. ^ a b Transcript from a CNN report from January 17, 2000.
  6. ^ "The 50 Greatest Commercials of All Time," TV Guide magazine, July 3 1999.
  7. ^ Life Cereal Brand History from Quaker Oats.
  8. ^ Strategic Equity Assessment for Life Cereal, Forbes Consulting Group, August 1999 (cited here).
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "Pop Rocks" from the Urban Legends Reference Pages.
  10. ^ Episode Guide from the MythBusters website on Discovery.com.
  11. ^ Noted from the MythBusters episode noted above.
  12. ^ Pop Rocks product history from Pop Rocks Inc.

External links

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