The holy grail for Doctor Who fans is undoubtedly a Dalek was once given away with Sugar Puffs breakfast cereal. The world’s longest-running science-fiction TV shows owes its longevity mainly to the Daleks. The first Doctor Who story was originally about crossing paths with cavemen, after all, and it was only when the Daleks made their debut that the series became a hit. Over the next few years, Dalekmania gripped Britain.
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It didn’t take long for Doctor Who to make it to the big screen, in live-action adaptations that starred Peter Cushing as “Dr. Who.” Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. told a thrilling story in which the Doctor traveled to the near future, discovering an Earth that had been conquered by the malicious pepperpots. The film is notable for featuring the Doctor Who debut of Bernard Cribbins, who would go on to play Donna Noble’s grandfather Wilf in the modern relaunch. But it also has one unexpected legacy, in a rather unexpected collectible.
Doctor Who’s “Sugar Puffs Dalek” is A Top Collectible
Back in 1966, nobody really knew how valuable film props would become. Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. had sponsored the film in return for product placement and a competition that ran in Sugar Puffs packs. People could win actual Dalek props from the film, with three and a half million promotional packs sent out ahead of the film’s release (the competition was also promoted in the TV Century 21 magazine, which featured regular Dalek strips). The screen-used Daleks essentially went on tour, mounted on trucks in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester.
In the end, only three Dalek props were given out by the time the competition closed in February, 1967. And then, in 2016, one of the by-now-legendary “Sugar Puffs Daleks” resurfaced at an auction. According to Doctor Who News, “It was one of 67 items of Film and Television Memorabilia sold by a single collector.” It had been expected to sell for around £15,000, but 30 bidder competed for their prize and it sold for £38,000. Adjusted for inflation, that’s now a value of roughly £59,000 – or $72,000.
Modern collectors are used to the idea film props and merchandise can be incredibly valuable. That’s particularly true for older sci-fi franchises like Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Star Trek (even classic Star Wars posters can sell for over $20,000). But it’s quite incredible to realize some of these were once literally given away in breakfast cereal competitions.
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