There is great marketing power in the use of an icon to sell your products. A classic illustration is Popeye the Sailor Man who has been promoting spinach as a source of great strength since he came on the scene in 1929.

It was 95 years ago when cartoonist E.C. Segar first introduced his character, Popeye the Sailor Man in his comic strip, "Thimble Theater.” As most Popeye adventures went, the tough guy sailor with the ballooning forearms would typically get himself into trouble with his arch-nemesis, Bluto, typically involving Popeye’s girlfriend, Olive Oyl. After eating a can of spinach, his strength would be renewed and he would conquer Bluto and win the heart of Olive Oyl once again. Take a look. Because he ate spinach to get his iron, so he said, Popeye soon became a national icon for the spinach industry. In fact, the creation of Popeye came at the beginning of the Great Depression. Work became scarce and more expensive foods, such as vegetables like spinach, were hard to afford. But the iconic image of Popeye was used to sell cans of spinach and this actually boosted spinach sales 33 percent in 1931. Popeye became the savior of the spinach industry. In 1937, a statue of the cartoon character was erected in Crystal City, Texas – the spinach capital of the world. His image became a brand of Allen’s spinach, as seen above. It still is selling today, 95 years after his introduction.

It all came about as a mistake of sorts. It appears that when E.C. Segar was looking for a product that would give Popeye the iron he needed to gain strength, he read that spinach contained 35 milligrams of iron per 100 grams of spinach. This was based on research done in 1870 by Erick von Wolfe, a German chemist who had studied the nutritional value of the leafy green veggie. However, it was discovered that von Wolfe made an error when he claimed this high level of iron. What he meant to write was that he found 3.5 milligrams of iron in his spinach research, not 35 milligrams. This was discovered in 1937, eight years after the icon sailor saved the spinach growers of America from disaster.

What was done to correct the misconception? Nothing, at least not for several years. Spinach has many other nutritional values outside of containing iron. Those other nutrients are the selling points you will hear touted today. The marketing has shifted to its high antioxidant content along with its supply of vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber and calcium. It is considered a Superfood. Of course, Superfood is a marketing term too – and didn’t those kids watching cartoons in the 1930s believe spinach had "superfood” powers too? The power of one cartoon character is still keeping us eating our spinach. As Popeye routinely sang, "I'm strong to finich 'cause I eats me spinach, I’m Popeye the Sailor Man!”

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Popeye Boosts Spinach Consumption,by Rick Myers, popeye.com/history, February 16, 2024

The Entire 'Popeye' Franchise Is Based On Bad Science,by Christina Sterbenz, Business Insider, January 17, 2014