Recently, I took a trip to the Minnesota Historical Society and saw this image as a part of the MN 150 exhibit.  I had thought that I could pick out Betty Crocker out of a lineup with ease, but looking at these photos, I’m not sure I could.  What strikes me more than anything is the plainness of Ms. Crocker.  It’s as if I could pass her on the street, not give her a second thought.  I imagine from General Mills’ perspective, they want as many people to identify with the character as possible (in fact, the 1996 Betty Crocker is a composite of 75 women). I guess that I assumed that Betty Crocker would be immediately identifiable to me(I’ve known her for 30 years now), but instead each of her images are as nondescript as the next.

Recently, I took a trip to the Minnesota Historical Society and saw this image as a part of the MN 150 exhibit.  I had thought that I could pick out Betty Crocker out of a lineup with ease, but looking at these photos, I’m not sure I could.  What strikes me more than anything is the plainness of Ms. Crocker.  It’s as if I could pass her on the street, not give her a second thought.  I imagine from General Mills’ perspective, they want as many people to identify with the character as possible (in fact, the 1996 Betty Crocker is a composite of 75 women).

I guess that I assumed that Betty Crocker would be immediately identifiable to me(I’ve known her for 30 years now), but instead each of her images are as nondescript as the next.