Betty White and Betty Crocker Celebrate the Big 100 at Walmart

Two iconic Bettys—Crocker and White—are celebrating their 100th birthdays within three months of each other, and they’re encouraging home bakers to celebrate alongside them in a campaign with Walmart. White herself posted about the effort to her 1.6 million Instagram followers, noting her centennial birthday is coming up on Jan. 17, 2022 and “with @BettyCrocker and @Walmart, you can celebrate with your own birthday cake creations.” The campaign included in-store events, where participants received $3 Walmart gift cards to “bake a birthday cake on Betty.” The brand also sent mailers to Walmart shoppers with “an affinity for baking,” a Betty Crocker spokesperson said. “The campaign is all about reaching and celebrating home bakers, culinary enthusiasts and even those new to the kitchen that enjoy making memories with their families,” the spokesperson added. The history of Betty Crocker Betty Crocker dates back to 1921 when parent company General Mills created a female personality to respond to customers’ baking queries. Crocker was the name of a recently retired director. The name “Betty” sounded friendly. The rest, as they say, is history. By 1945, Fortune Magazine dubbed Crocker the second-best known woman in America, behind only first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. She has always been full of advice. During the Great Depression, the brand distributed booklets with cost-cutting tips. Crocker was also the face of a radio program called Our Nation’s Rations during World War II, following a request from the U.S. Office of War Information. Her tips continue today through a section on the Betty Crocker website called Ask Betty, where visitors can submit baking and cooking questions. She has not, however, always looked the same. The first official portrait of Crocker was painted in 1936, reportedly blending the features of the female staff at General Mills. She has been updated several times since, including a shift toward first lady Jackie Kennedy in 1965 and then to more of an olive skin tone in 1996 that resulted from combining the images of 75 women. #CallMeBettyCrocker The brand is running a related recipe promotion, #CallMeBettyCrocker, through Dec. 31, which invites consumers to submit recipes with at least one Betty Crocker product for a chance to win custom Betty Crocker packaging that features their recipe. “Throughout the last century, Betty Crocker has been a constant source of knowledge and inspiration for home bakers everywhere,” said Maria Jaramillo, business unit director for Mexican food and baking at General Mills, in a statement. “We want to celebrate those who have been inspired by Betty and encourage them to share and take pride in their recipes.” The real-life (brand) legacy of Betty White Betty White enjoys similar recognizability in the public eye, but through a Hollywood career spanning more than 70 years. While she’s perhaps best known for roles on legendary sitcoms like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, she’s also done her fair share of advertising. While the list of brands she has worked with include Tide and Smokey the Bear, her best-known commercial is likely the 2010 Super Bowl ad for Snickers, which USA Today later dubbed one of the best Super Bowl ads of the 2010s. King Arthur’s First Campaign Since Its Rebrand Showcases the Joys of Baking Together