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Lucky Charms (cereal)

Lucky Charms® is a popular brand of US breakfast cereal targeted towards kids (and "kids" of all ages). Its mascot is "Lucky the Leprechaun" who constantly sings the praises of the "magical", marshmallow-laden cereal. The cereal itself is a mix of oats and colored marshmallows. Lucky Charms are made by General Mills of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Lucky Charms commercials have been a staple of US children's TV (both on Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons) since the cereal was first introduced in 1964. The original cereal had four types of colored marshmallows: "Pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers," but some sources indicate that there were also blue diamonds. General Mills has added additional marshmallows over the years to boost sales: Purple horseshoes, pots of gold, rainbows, and red balloons. The moon's color was also changed from yellow to blue. The clover was also placed in Lucky's hat, the star is now "shooting", and the diamond has been removed. Over the years, there have also been marshmallows specially designed for individual marketing campaigns. For example, marshmallows that revealed clues to a "Find Lucky" map on the box when placed in milk, or special "star in the moon" marshmallows. For a brief period of time, Lucky the Leprechaun was replaced as the cereal's mascot by a bumbling, inept wizard; but Lucky was returned when sales of the cereal declined as a result.

Advertising slogan: "Frosted Lucky Charms, they're magically delicious!®"

See also: marketing

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