Cracker Jacks - Why a boy and his dog?

The story of Cracker Jack started in the 1870s, when German immigrant Frederick W. Rueckheim and his younger brother Louis started selling bricks of popcorn out of a small office in Chicago. They began selling their caramel corn in the 1890s, and by the end of the century, their creation — and the innovative waxed box that kept its contents fresh — was a sensation. The brand was immortalized in the song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in 1908, cementing it as an American icon.

As World War I rolled around and anti-German sentiment started rising in America, Cracker Jack needed a show of patriotism to boost declining sales. The company redesigned the boxes in red, white, and blue colors, and for an extra wholesome touch, the elder Rueckheim added an illustration of his grandson, which first appeared in ads and then packages around 1918. Sadly, the boy died of pneumonia at age 8, so his image stayed on the box as a memorial.

 

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