The recent death of author Ron Goulart has brought up his early compositions for an advertising agency that had a wider audience than any of his later writing (a “circulation” of 50 million copies).
From and © The New York Times of April 27, 1962:
We have no idea how many editions appeared, but here’s a sampling.
May 1962:
May 1962
May 1962
March 1964
May 1977
This item puts Ron writing The Chex-Press from 1962-1967.
Ralston-Purina, makers of Chex Cereal (and Purina Dog Chow) decided to do something different. They hired an ad copywriter (Ron Goulart) to write a newspaper parody on the back of their boxes. Thus, the Morning Chex Press was born.
Every few months, a new box would come out. They were filled with jokes, oddball stories, a weather report, and the “No Pictures Comic Strip.” The results were a delight. I think one reason I still love Corn Chex and Rice Chex is thinking about the old Chex Press. I’ll admit I don’t remember too many details (even the Internet gives no specifics), but I do remember looking forward to reading the box each time we bought a new one.
Goulart was just starting his career as a writer. He later developed into one of the funniest writers in science fiction before branching out to write mysteries, including a fairly recent series featuring Groucho Marx as a detective. He’s also well known for his various books on popular culture.
May 1962
We were just talking about this in another part of the internet, and no one could find anything on it. I, at least, recalled having read it (as a child, I enjoyed the idea of eating people chow from the Ralston-Purina company). So great job in finding this info, and then putting it together. Thanks.