No more Cap’n Crunch? Is nothing sacred?

Here’s the thing.  When I was a kid, Saturday mornings involved two traditions – five hours of cartoons and at least four bowls of cereal.  Froot Loops.  Trix.  Honeycomb.  Alpha Bits.  And the best of them all, Cap’n Crunch.

Come on, you know you’ve had a few bowls of Cap’n Crunch in a single day.  That stuff had more energy in it than a pack of Ray-O-Vacs.  And it was tasty, too.

Well, then you’re not going to enjoy this news.

Apparently the good Cap’n and the crew of the S.S. Guppy are sailing off to retirement.  Or maybe not.

This report in The Daily Finance confirms that the parent company of Quaker Oats, PepsiCo, is phasing out Cap’n Crunch cereal.  Cap’n Crunch’s other derivative brands were discontinued years ago, and the company is arguing that Cap’n Crunch’s low nutritional value – as well as its twelve grams of sugar per serving – makes it a candidate for excision from Quaker Oats’ lineup.

However, Quaker Oats, in this Advertising Age news story, states that the product is still being actively sold and is not scheduled for retirement. “Reports of Cap’n Crunch’s demise are greatly exaggerated,” Quaker said said in the article. “In fact, we just launched an official Facebook page for Cap’n Crunch. Now that our Cap’n Crunch brand is in the social-media space, our adult consumers can stay up to date on all things Cap’n Crunch.”

Plus, not only are Cap’n Crunch and Crunch Berries and Peanut Butter Crunch still on the market, Quaker Oats is adding “Retro Crunch,” a repackaging of the original Cap’n Crunch brands in vintage packaging.

So let’s get things clear. Cap’n Crunch is not going away any time soon. So long as there are bowls and spoons and milk, we can all enjoy that tasty sugary goodness. Well, all of you can. A bowl of that would not work with my Type II.

With that in mind, let’s stroll down memory lane and re-watch some of those old classic Cap’n Crunch commercials.  The cool thing about these commercials?  Many of them were animated by Jay Ward Productions, the company that also produced Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons.  In fact, Cap’n Crunch’s voice was provided by veteran animation voice actor Daws Butler, and some of the female voices in the cartoons were voiced by actress June Foray.

Here it is. One of the first Cap’n Crunch commercials, where we’re introduced to the S.S. Guppy, as well as Cap’n Crunch’s trusty pet Sea Dog, and the kids that live on the boat – Alfie, Brunhilde. Carlyle and Dave.
This commercial from 1966 shows Cap’n Crunch battling his arch enemy, Jean LaFoote, the barefoot pirate. And listen to the nutritional claims Cap’n Crunch is touting about the cereal!
Here’s an early commercial for Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries, strawberry-flavored additions. For a while, when Cap’n Crunch was the #1 breakfast cereal, the Crunch Berries version was a close second.
Here’s another Crunch Berries commercial, as Cap’n Crunch welcomes a new member to his crew – CB, the Crunchberry Beast.
How about this for your breakfast palate – Choco Crunch, and as always, it’s part of a nutritious breakfast.
For Cap’n Crunch’s Peanut Butter Crunch, we get a new character in the mix, Smedley the Peanut Butter Elephant.
Now for this commercial for Peanut Butter Crunch, we get to see an appearance by Cap’n Crunch’s other bad guys, the Soggies.
Here’s a commercial for Cap’n Crunch’s Punch Crunch cereal, with Harry Hippo (who sounds an AWFUL lot like Bullwinkle the Moose).
Later on, Cap’n Crunch added a new flavor, Vanilly Crunch [sic], with Wilma the Winsome Whale.
Apparently Jean LaFoote got his own breakfast cereal for a time, as Jean LaFoote’s Cinnamon Crunch was on store shelves for a few years.
One final commercial with the Cap’n and his good crew. Sing along if you know the words!

These memories of Cap’n Crunch work for you?