Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 3, 1990                   TAG: 9004030063
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: STEVE RUBENSTEIN SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

POPEYE THE SAILOR SELLS OUT

It all happens in a new Popeye comic book. I came across it at breakfast, over a bowl of oatmeal.

Popeye has signed on as the spokesman for a line of instant oatmeal, and a comic book comes packed in every oatmeal box.

The comic book begins innocently enough.

There's Wimpy, eating a hamburger. There's Popeye, getting punched by the evil Bluto. There's Olive Oyl, handing Popeye a can of spinach.

So far, all is proceeding on course.

Then what happens? The end of the world, that's what.

"Can the spinach!" says Popeye. "I wants me Instant Quaker Oatmeal!"

Forgoing the spinach, Popeye gobbles oatmeal instead.

Then he knocks Bluto's block off and sings his song. But he's no longer strong to the finish `cause he eats his spinach.

Here's his tune now:

"I eats me oatmeal, and I'm stronger than steel, I'm Popeye the Quaker Man."

The old sailor has sold us out.

Is he really saying that instant oatmeal (which the label says is full of sugar, artificial flavor, saturated fat and something called "flavored fruit pieces") is better than spinach, wonderful spinach?

Yes, he is.

The character of Popeye is owned by the King Features cartoon syndicate. Their licensing department cut the anti-spinach deal with the oatmeal company.

"Oatmeal is good food, like spinach," said Jeff Brown, vice-president of the syndicate.

"The essence of Popeye is good nutrition. That's the way we've positioned Popeye in the new campaign."

No, Mr. Brown, the essence of Popeye is spinach. You don't position Popeye out of his spinach, especially not for sugar and fat.

"Look, I'm not a dietitian," Brown said. "But we really don't think it's a problem for Popeye to eat something besides spinach once in awhile."

The oatmeal people happily concede that Popeye likes oatmeal because the company paid him to like oatmeal.

"Popeye is our endorser," said Quaker Oats spokesman Ron Bottrell. "We worked it out with Popeye's people and got their permission."

For years, Bottrell said, spinach growers were capitalizing on Popeye.

The sailor man was working for free. It was un-American.

"The growers were getting a free ride off Popeye," he said.

That's all different now.

The Quaker people are placing a million anti-spinach comic books in the oatmeal boxes, running anti-spinach Popeye commercials on the Saturday morning cartoon shows and selling "Can the Spinach"Popeye shoelaces, for $2 and two box tops.

Popeye, alone among comic heroes, was his own man. I am what I am, he used to say.

No longer.