Betty Crocker, an invented persona and mascot, is a brand name and trademark of American food company General Mills. The name was first developed by the Washburn Crosby Company in 1921 as a way to give a personalized response to consumer product questions.

Company executives chose the name "Betty" because it seemed warm and friendly to them. The surname "Crocker" was borrowed from retired executive William Crocker . At first "Betty Crocker" was used to provide the simulation of a personal signature to replies to customers asking advice. In 1924 Betty Crocker got a voice when the daytime radio broadcast "Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air," voiced and scripted for a decade by Marjorie Husted.

In 1928, Washburn Crosby merged with five or more other milling companies to form General Mills, which continues to use the Betty Crocker brand on various products.

In 1929, Betty Crocker coupons were introduced. Inserted in bags of flour, they could be used to reduce the cost of Oneida flatware. 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, which told purchasers to "save and redeem for big savings on fine kitchen and home accessories in our catalog".

From 1930 General Mills issued softbound recipe books, including in 1933 Betty Crocker's 101 Delicious Bisquick Creations As Made And Served by Well-Known Gracious Hostesses, Famous Chefs, Distinguished Epicures and Smart Luminaries of Movieland.

A portrait for Betty Crocker first appeared in 1936, subtly changed over the years to accomodate General Mills' cultural perception of the American homemaker, knowledgeable, caring and Caucasian. The current image of Betty Crocker, according to the corporation, is actually a combination of over twenty real-life women thought by the company to represent the true Betty Crocker.

In Golden Valley, Minnesota, the Minneapolis suburb where General Mills is headquartered, there is a street called Betty Crocker Drive.

External links

• Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book edition history: changing portrait-style images of Betty Crocker since 1936
• Susan Marks-Kerst, except from "Betty Crocker: Marketing the Modern Woman," in Hennepin History (Minneapolis), Spring 1999
• Betty Crocker's history