13. The brand name created from a fictional housewife
In 1921, the Washburn-Crosby Company (later one of the founding companies of General Mills) held a contest in the Saturday Evening Post. They were seeking a character to use when addressing questions or concerns regarding their products. A fictional American housewife and cooking expert was the result. She was given the last name Crocker, borrowed from Washburn-Crosby executive William Crocker. Her first name, Betty, came from the belief of the all-male executives of the firm that it sounded like the all-American girl next door. By 1924 Betty had a radio program, The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air, voiced by actress Marjorie Husted. Betty’s image, created in 1921, adapted over the years to reflect changing American values and images of women. Several actresses and radio personalities provided her voice over the ensuing decades.
Betty moved to television in 1949, appearing on programs hosted by other celebrities, including George and Gracie Burns. She eventually acquired her own program, the Betty Crocker Star Matinee, portrayed by Adelaide Hawley. Fortune Magazine named her the second most popular woman in America in 1945, following Eleanor Roosevelt. Later that same year Fortune identified her as a fraud. Evidently, they had believed she was real. Hawley also portrayed Betty Crocker in the first color commercial ever aired by CBS, during which she baked a cake. In the 20th century, she became bilingual, with her many cookbooks appearing in Spanish, and directions on her product labels provided in Spanish and English. General Mills commissioned an official portrait for Betty in 1936, and updated it numerous times in the years since. She was not a real person, nor even based on one, though people still question General Mills over her true identity in the 21st century.