Aldi Shoppers Can't Believe This Used To Be The Marshmallows And Stars Mascot

Sometimes we forget to appreciate the work that's gone into an item's branding. A recent Reddit thread brought this up along with an old and somewhat obscure cereal mascot from Aldi's own brand, which might just give you nightmares. The cereal is called Marshmallows & Stars, and features star-shaped cereal pieces and colorful marshmallows in a variety of shapes. The mascot? A starfish, but not just any starfish.

By far the best description of the character comes from a 2013 post on a cereal-themed blog that wrote, "The creature that they thought would most likely get a parent to buy the cereal, or a child to demand it, is a paper thin, hyper colored starfish with a giant gap-toothed grin and crazed eyes that stare off into the middle distance" (via Cereal for Dinner). It's true, the unnamed starfish mascot has an uneven set of teeth, with none in the middle, and quite a startling, bug-eyed gaze. Perhaps the strangest part of the entire marketing strategy is that the cereal is meant to be a budget version of Lucky Charms. Of course, the other members of the Reddit thread had plenty to say about it.

The original post on Reddit reads, "I just really miss the old box art for Millville Marshmallows & Stars" and features a picture of the entire box, and a close-up on the open-mouthed face of the starfish. It quickly gained over 150 upvotes, with comments like, "This is terrifying!" and "hello there, the angel of my nightmares." Some were also quick to critique the looks of the starfish with comments like, "A cautionary tale of what could happen to your teeth if you are this stuff regularly" and "That star could use some proactiv." 

Others made reference to the classic TV show SpongeBob SquarePants, writing, "SpongeBob StarFace" and even "This is what would happen if Spongebob and Patrick decided to procreate!!!!" Sadly, the startling starfish is no longer gracing boxes of cereal in Aldi, having been replaced with a simple, mustachioed wizard with a green hat and robe (via Reddit).