What is "boxtop"

A boxtop, in the context of being a proof of purchase, is understood to be the upper portion of a product box, detached, and mailed as part of a claim for a radio premium or other advertising offer. During the 1930s through 1950s, cereal boxtops were usually the most common proofs of purchase used to claim such premiums. ( UPCs, which debuted in the 1960s, later served this purpose.)

Popular cereal boxtops of the period were Wheaties, which sponsored Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy; Kellogg's Pep, which sponsored The Adventures of Superman; Ralston-Purina, which sponsored Tom Mix Ranston Straight Shooters; and various General Mills, particularly Cheerios and Kix, which sponsored The Lone Ranger.

General Mills (which now also owns the cereal assets of Ralston-Purina) currently markets its boxtop redemption program toward educational institutions; the program is currently known as Box Tops for Education.