Betty Crocker

Betty Crockeris a brand and fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes.  The character was created by theWashburn-Crosby Companyin 1921 to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. In 1954,General Millsintroduced the red spoon logo with her signature, placing it on Gold Medal flour,Bisquick, and cake-mix packages.A portrait of Betty Crocker appears on printed advertisements, product packaging, and cookbooks.
The character was developed in 1921 following a unique Gold Medal Flour promotion featured in theSaturday Evening Post. The ad asked consumers to complete a jigsaw puzzle and mail it to the then Washburn-Crosby Company, later General Mills, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In return, they would receive a pincushion shaped like a bag of flour. Along with 30,000 completed puzzles came several hundred letters with cooking-related questions.
Realizing that especially housewives would want advice from a fellow woman, the company’s Advertising Department convinced its board of directors to create a personality that the women answering the letters could all use in their replies. The name Betty was selected because it was viewed as a cheery, all-American name.  It was paired with the last name Crocker, in honor of William Crocker, a Washburn Crosby Company director.
The portrait of Betty Crocker was first commissioned in 1936. It has been updated seven times since her creation, reflecting changes in fashion and hairstyles.
Described as an Americancultural icon, the image of Betty Crocker has endured several generations, adapting to changing social, political, and economic currents.Apart from advertising campaigns in printed, broadcast and digital media, she received several cultural references in film, literature, music and comics.
Betty Crocker was created in 1921 byWashburn-Crosbyand advertising executiveBruce Barton.Crocker was based on a sous-chef from Franklin College — where Barton attended school — who made the delicious, if somewhat dry, baked goods for the cafeteria. UnderMarjorie Husted's supervision, the image of Betty Crocker became the "Zeus" of General Mills. In 1928, Washburn Crosby merged with other milling companies to form General Mills.
In 1924, Crocker acquired a voice with the debut of "The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air" on one station in Minneapolis. It was the country's first radio cooking program. Blanche Ingersoll followed by Husted was selected to portray Betty Crocker. The show proved popular and eventually was carried nationally on NBC Radio, withAgnes White Tizardas Betty. Over the next three decades, the women would anonymously portray Betty Crocker on the air and at cooking schools.
In 1929, Betty Crockercouponswere introduced. Inserted in bags of flour, they could be used to reduce the cost ofOneida Limitedflatware.By 1932, this scheme had become so popular that General Mills began to offer an entire set of flatware;the pattern was called "Friendship" (later renamed "Medality").In 1937, the coupons were printed on the outside of packages, copy on which told purchasers to "save and redeem for huge savings on fine kitchen and home accessories in ourcatalog".
The character made its packaging debut in 1937, appearing onSoftasilkcake flour. The name appeared in various Gold Medal products but its first brand name appearance came in 1941 on soup mixes.
From 1930, General Mills issued softbound recipe books, including, in 1933,Betty Crocker's 101 DeliciousBisquickCreations, as Made and Served by Well-Known Gracious Hostesses, Famous Chefs, Distinguished Epicures and Smart Luminaries of Movieland.
TheBetty Crocker Cook Book of All-Purpose Bakingwas published as an aid to wartime considerations in cooking.
In 1950, the first hardcover recipe cookbook was published, entitledBetty Crocker Picture Cookbook.It was written by nutritionist Agnes White Tizard.
In 2005, the 10th edition of the Betty Crocker cookbook was published,as well as aSpanish/Englishbilingual book that collects some of the more common recipes for Spanish-speaking readers looking to cook American-style food.An 11th edition, in ring-binder format, appeared in 2011. At least 17 other Betty Crocker recipe collections were also in print in 2015.
Betty Crockerprograms first appeared on radio on local stations in 1924. The first networkBetty Crockerbroadcast was onNBCin 1926. The show remained on network radio until 1953; most of the time the program was on NBC orCBS, but it was onABCfrom 1947 to 1953.
Betty Crocker was portrayed by several actresses, includingMarjorie Hustedon radio for twenty years, andAdelaide Hawley Cummingon television between 1949 and 1964.
In 1949, the actressAdelaide Hawley Cummingbecame Betty Crocker for many years. She appeared for several years onThe George Burns and Gracie Allen Show,and even had her TV show,Betty Crocker Star Matinee.She also appeared in theCBSnetwork's first color commercial, in which she baked a "mystery fruit cake". Hawley continued to portray Betty Crocker until 1964.
A portrait of Betty Crocker was first commissioned in 1936,a "motherly image" that "blended the features of several Home Service Department members" that was painted byNeysa McMein.It subtly changed over the years, but always accommodated General Mills' cultural perception of the American homemaker — knowledgeable and caring.The 1996 portrait of Betty Crocker, according to General Mills, was partially inspired by a "computerized composite" of "75 women of diverse backgrounds and ages."These portraits were always painted, with no real person ever having posed as a model.
In 1945,Fortunemagazine named Betty Crocker the second most popular woman in America;Eleanor Rooseveltwas named first.In the same year,Fortune"outed" Betty Crocker as a fictitious creation, calling her a "fake" and a "fraud."
TheMinneapolissuburb ofGolden Valley, Minnesota, where General Mills is headquartered, has a street named Betty Crocker Drive.
There are several Betty Crocker–branded products, including plastic food containers and measuring cups, and a line of small appliances such as popcorn poppers and sandwich makers.
In 2006, the Betty Crocker catalog operation went out of business with all of its inventory on sale.Points were redeemable until December 15, 2006. Afterward, unused points were available to be converted into discounts for a small period thereafter on a short-lived website.