Sunny Jim
Doll
1960-1965 (made)
1960-1965 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The character 'Sunny Jim' has been a popular advertisement for Force breakfast cereal for about a century. Despite this, the advertising profession has tended to regard the campaign as something of a failure, mainly because it is perhaps not obvious whether the product is the cereal or the doll. Although apparently unchanged over the years, subtle differences in Sunny Jim's appearance, such as the angle of his ears and the shape of his necktie, enable keen-eyed collectors to date the dolls quite closely.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Sunny Jim (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Printed calico, stuffed with kapok |
| Brief description | 'Sunny Jim' advertising rag doll made in England between 1960 and 1965 |
| Physical description | Calico rag doll depicting a Caucasian male of the early nineteenth century, printed as dressed in a red swallow-tail coat, white trousers, and a black cap with his name on it in white. His white hair is dressed in a long upward curving queue at the back; he wears a monocle and carries a box of Force wheat flake breakfast cereal. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Given by A. C. Fincken & Co Ltd |
| Production | Original design of doll dates to 1905; this example produced by the donor firm which was/ is the English agent for the Canadian firm which owned the Force wheat flakes brand. Although this doll was donated later, it has the red cheeks which appear only on examples produced during the early 1960s. Attribution note: Product offer for advertising purposes |
| Summary | The character 'Sunny Jim' has been a popular advertisement for Force breakfast cereal for about a century. Despite this, the advertising profession has tended to regard the campaign as something of a failure, mainly because it is perhaps not obvious whether the product is the cereal or the doll. Although apparently unchanged over the years, subtle differences in Sunny Jim's appearance, such as the angle of his ears and the shape of his necktie, enable keen-eyed collectors to date the dolls quite closely. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | MISC.1-1970 |
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| Record created | February 24, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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