The Campbell’s Soup Company (born Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company) was rounding on its second full decade in existence when Frenchman Alphonse Biardot and his two sons opened up a restaurant in Jersey City, to introduce residents to the many delicacies of his native country. Biardot did well enough to last for thirty years, and then sold his company to the Campbell Co.’s founders Joseph A. Campbell and Abraham Anderson. The new company, called Franco-American, operated semi-indenpendently as a subsidiary, before almost accidentally creating one of the most popular and enduring brands.

On this day, May 16, in 1965 Franco-American launched its iconic kids pasta, little O-shapes swaddled in tomato sauce. The smaller shapes were designed specifically for easier consumption by children.

Campbell was so sure of the product’s success that he rolled out SpaghettiOs with no test marketing and only a television advertising campaign using the tag line “The neat round spaghetti you can eat with a spoon.” Devising that slogan could have been a whole lot tougher had any of the rejected shapes, such as cowboys and Indians, spacemen and stars, and sports-related shapes been accepted.