We’ll replay our conversations with pop culture historians Tim Hollis and Mark Pendergrast on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Sept. 4-6 at the following times and venues:
WBRT AM 1320 and FM 97.1 Bardstown, KY Friday 9/4 9am ET 6am PT Listen Live at WBRTCountry.com
Share-a-Vision Radio San Francisco Bay Area Friday 9/4 7pm ET, 4pm PT 10pm ET, 7pm PT Click on the Listen Live button at KSAV.org or listen to us on the KSAV TuneIn channel
RadioSlot.com San Francisco, CA Friday 9/4 10pm ET, 7pm PT Saturday 9/5 11pm ET, 8pm PT Sunday 9/6 11pm ET, 8pm PT with replays Monday thru Friday 11am ET, 8am PT Click on the Talk Slot button at RadioSlot.com
WKXO AM 1500 and FM 103.5 Lexington-Fayette/Richmond/Berea, KY Saturday 9/5 8am ET, 5am PT Streaming at Facebook.com/1035wkxo
WTCA 1050 AM and FM 106.1 South Bend/Plymouth, IN Saturday 9/5 3pm ET, Noon PT Streaming at am1050.com or listen to us on the WTCA TuneIn channel
KSCJ Talk Radio 1360 AM and 94.9 FM Sioux City, IA Saturday 9/5 4pm CT, 2pm PT Sunday 9/6 6pm CT, 4pm PT Streaming at KSCJ.com or listen to us on the KSCJ TuneIn channel
Indiana Talks Huntington, IN Saturday 9/5 8pm ET, 5pm PT Sunday 9/6 10am ET, 7am PT Click on the player at IndianaTalks.com or listen to us on the Indiana Talks TuneIn channel
WON 920 The Apple Brooklyn, NY Saturday 9/5 10pm ET, 7pm PT Streaming at WONNewYork.net
WLAD AM 800 and FM 94.1 Danbury, CT Sunday 9/6 5am ET, 2am PT Also streaming at WLAD.com or listen to us on the WLAD TuneIn channel
KSCO AM-1080 and FM-104.1 San Jose, Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA Sunday 9/6 9am ET, 6am PT Also streaming at KSCO.com or listen to us on the KSCO TuneIn channel
KOMY AM-1340 La Selva Beach and Watsonville, CA Sunday 9/6 9am ET, 6am PT Hear us online on the KOMY TuneIn channel
CROC Radio Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada Sunday 9/6 1pm ET, 10am PT Streaming at CROCRadio.com or listen to us on the CROC Radio TuneIn channel
KLTF 960 AM St. Cloud/Little Falls, MN Sunday 9/6 6pm CT, 4pm PT Streaming at FallsRadio.com or listen to us on the KLTF TuneIn channel
KPLT 1490 AM and 96.3 FM Paris, TX Sunday 9/6 8pm CT, 6pm PT Streaming at EastTexasRadio.com/stations/kplt/ or listen to us on the KPLT TuneIn channel
WDIG AM 1450 Dothan, AL Sunday 9/6 10pm ET, 7pm PT Streaming at WDIGRadio.com or listen to us on the WDIG TuneIn channel
KHMB AM-1710 KHMV-LP 100.9 FM Half Moon Bay, CA Sunday 9/6 9pm PT (Mid ET Mon 9/7) Click on the Listen Live button at KHMBRadio.com or listen to us on the KHMB/KHMV TuneIn channel PassionateWorldTalkRadio.com A member of the Truli Media Group Ann Arbor, MI ~ Boston, MA ~ Chicago, IL ~ Melrose, FL ~ Los Angeles, CA Various times throughout the week on PassionateWorldTalkRadio.com and the PWR channel on TuneIn

If you grew up watching television in the ’50s, ’60s and early 1970s, you know that part of the fun of watching TV back then were the ubiquitous—and often ingenious—animated commercials for Cap’n Crunch, Sugar Crisp, Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, Fruity Pebbles, Quisp and Quake, Trix, Count Chocula, Franken Berry and numerous other popular breakfast cereals made by Kellogg’s, Post, Quaker, Ralston-Purina and other manufacturers. Much of these appeal of these commercials is the host of animated characters that are still popular today, including Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop, Lucky the Leprechaun, the Trix Rabbit and the Cheerios Kid. These cereal characters became big stars not only through their TV commercials, but through merchandise such as comic books, stuffed toys and, in some cases, their own TV series.

We’ll talk about this, and more, in our second hour as we replay our conversation from September 2013 with author Tim Hollis. Tim’s book Part of a Complete Breakfast: Cereal Characters of the Baby Boom Era not only reveals the origins and appeal of these commercials, but discusses how changing times helped lead to the demise of some of these popular animated breakfast-cereal characters.

Speaking of savvy advertising, we’ll talk about Coca-Cola—a product that has used print, radio and television very effectively throughout its long history—in our first hour as we replay our conversation from September 2013 with Mark Pendergrast, author of For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It. What began as a medicinal product in 1886 gradually evolved into a refreshment beverage that not only became the dominant consumer product in the United States throughout the 20th century, but, in many respects, came to be identified with America itself.

Originally published in 1993, For God, Country and Coca-Cola has been revised and updated with new information on the history and future of Coca-Cola, including a look at how Coca-Cola and Pepsi, once rivals in the “cola wars,” are now united in the “new cola wars”—despite the fact that both are considered the primary culprits behind the obesity epidemic. The new edition also documents beyond the shadow of a doubt that Coca-Cola originally contained cocaine; discusses the origins of such famous TV campaigns as “The Hilltop Ad” (as well as the differences in how Coke and Pepsi advertise their products), and reveals the original formula used by Frank Mason Robinson, the man who not only gave Coca-Cola its name, but wrote the name in the Spencerian script that became the product’s trademark.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television Fri 9am ET, 6am PT on WBRT AM 1320/FM 97.1 (Bardstown, KY) Fri 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org and CX Radio Brazil Fri 10pm ET, 7pm PT, Sat/Sun 11pm ET, 8pm PT on RadioSlot (San Francisco, CA) Sat 9am ET, 6am PT on WKXO 1500 AM and 103.5 FM (Lexington-Fayette/Richmond/Berea, KY) Sat 3pm ET, Noon PT on WTCA 1050 AM and 106.1 FM (Plymouth, IN) Sat 4pm CT, 2pm PT and Sun 6pm CT, 4pm PT on KSCJ 1360 AM and 94.9 FM (Sioux City, IA) Sat 8pm ET, 5pm PT and Sun 10am ET, 7am PT on Indiana Talks (Huntington, IN) Sat 10pm ET, 7pm PT on 920 WON The Apple  (Brooklyn, NY) Sun 5am ET, 2am PT on WLAD-AM 800 and FM 94.1 (Danbury, CT) Sun 9am ET, 6am PT on KSCO-AM 1080 (San Jose/Santa Cruz/Salinas, CA) Sun 9am ET, 6am PT on KOMY-AM 1340 (La Selva Beach/Watsonville, CA) Sun 1pm ET, 10am PT on CROC Radio (British Columbia, Canada) Sun 6pm CT, 4pm PT on KLTF (St. Cloud/Little Falls, MN) Sun 8pm CT, 6pm PT on KPLT AM and FM (Paris, TX) Sun 10pm ET, 7pm PT on WDIG AM (Dothan, AL) Sun 9pm PT, Mon Mid ET on KHMB-AM and FM (Half Moon Bay, CA) Various times throughout the week on the Entertainment Channel at Passionate World Talk Radio

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