Despite all the drama inherent in late-night TV, cereal mascot Cap'n Crunch has tossed his trademark blue cap into the arena with his own online talk show in what is undoubtedly a first for a breakfast food. The first episode will air on YouTube on May 7, with the cereal's mascot as host.
Despite all the drama inherent in late-night TV, cereal mascot Cap’n Crunch has tossed his trademark blue cap into the arena with his own online talk show in what is undoubtedly a first for a breakfast food.
The Cap’n Crunch Show, an animated series of webisodes targeting adults, debuted a teaser on Tuesday on Cap’n Crunch’s YouTube page.
As of Tuesday, it had 300 views.
Nine additional episodes are scheduled to air every other Tuesday throughout the spring and summer on YouTube at 11:35 p.m. EDT. The first full episode will air May 7.
A Cap’n Crunch rep says the length of the episodes will vary, but they will generally be about one to two minutes.
According to a press release, in addition to “interesting guests,” The Cap’n Crunch Show will include topical banter, comedy sketches and the Cap’n’s sidekick, Sea Dog. The show will be set in a giant bowl of cereal aboard the S.S. Guppy and “given the Cap’n’s rusty social skills, awkward and entertaining moments are to be expected.”
Or, as Cap’n Crunch says on YouTube, “I’m inviting some of the interesting folks I’ve met in my travels to come aboard the S.S. Guppy to talk about life, the Internet, culture, puppies, and anything else I can dream up! We’re making late-night crunchy again…one bowl at a time.”
A Cap’n Crunch rep was not available for further comment.
Cap’n Crunch has come a long way in social since his debut in March 2011 when he posted on Facebook, “I was out on the seas for the past 23 years because I took a wrong turn. But don’t worry, I’m back for good and not going anywhere. I’m excited to be on Facebook, this is a brand new adventure for me!”
At the time, Cap’n Crunch conjured the persona of a Luddite, posting queries like, “I hear ‘smart’ phones are the best way for me to keep in touch with all my fans on Facebook & Twitter wherever I go. I’m confused, though. Do they actually make you smarter or something?”
The brand now has 269,000 likes on Facebook. And, after posting his first tweet last June, @RealCapnCrunch has 14,000 followers.
In the press release, the brand calls the show “a bold comeback” for Cap’n Horatio Magellan Crunch, “an iconic figure who starred in commercials that were a mainstay during Saturday morning cartoons from the 1960s to the 1980s.”
Cap’n Crunch is encouraging fans to tag tweets about the show with #capncrunchshow.
The Cap’n Crunch Show is produced by digital agency Huge, in partnership with Gifted Youth, the commercial production division of Funny or Die.
Cap’n Crunch first hit shelves in 1963. It is owned by the Quaker Oats Company, a unit of PepsiCo, Inc.
