Rice Krispies

Snap, Crackle and Pop!


Do you know who is who?

Be the first to identify the characters correctly and you get to choose next week's cereal! Comment on this post with the correct names for A, B and C.

We know in this modern age it will be impossible for us to prevent anyone from doing a little "research" and finding the answer online, but if you're going to cheat, at least find the box in the kitchen and get the answer there :)

EDIT - Alex is our winner! His selection for next week - COUNT CHOCULA! I think I smell a Monster cereal series... :)

Thanks to all who participated!!

EDIT 2 - Scami was our original winner, I got confused when putting the letters in order. Sorry Scami!! He's keeping with our Monster theme by requesting Boo Berry for the following week.

Kix Cereal

Kix Cereal - "Kid Tested, Mother Approved"

After talking with some co-workers after this Monday's Cereal Club, I kept hearing the same story. People remember the tagline but don't remember eating the cereal. Most were underwhelmed with the taste, while those of us nostalgic cereal-philes waxed poetically about Saturday morning cartoons and eating this plain stuff by the handfull.

Maybe our moms bought into the hype and thought this would be a better option than sugary flavored cereals. Maybe we just have better long-term memories. Or maybe, Kix paved the way for all of the fancy organic cereals lining the shelves containing natural sorghum sweetener (and hasn't been touched by human hands).

Here's an excerpt from the Kix Wikipedia article: "General Mills introduced Berry Berry Kix in 1992 and Honey Kix in 2009. A small controversy ^[1] occurred with the release of Berry Berry which sounds like a disease resulting from a nutritional deficiency of vitamin B₁ (thiamine) - a vitamin not present in Kix ^[2].It also seems that Trix cereal is Kix, except with fruit flavoring and color, as well as Cocoa Puffs, with chocolate."

A little bizarre, and definitely based on observation rather than fact, but it got me thinking about General Mills and the statement they made in this commercial:



No colors, no flavors, no "junky" stuff.

So does that mean other General Mills cereals are junky? If colors and flavors make cereal junky then Berry Berry Kix must be the black sheep of the family. That stuff might as well be repackaged and labeled "Trix."

I don't know about you, but I guess I like my cereal with a little extra junk in the trunk. Just don't tell that know-it-all kid in the commercial.

Golden Crisp

Golden Crisp (formerly known as Sugar Crisp) and Smacks (formerly known as Sugar Smacks and then Honey Smacks) have a lot in common. Not only do they look and taste the same, but both are more than 50% sugar by weight, which is comparable to eating a glazed doughnut from Dunkin' (thanks, Consumer Reports).

But let's get down to the most important differentiator: which mascot has a stronger "coolness" factor?

I found a lot of opinions while browsing the Internet, mostly on blogs similar to ours that bring cereal-lovers together to discuss the finer points of the industry. Here are a couple of my favorite comments:

"Sarah J." brings up an interesting point, that Sugar Bear is basically stereotyping all bears to be honey mongers:
"Honey smacks cause they have more honey and the frog character is more unique then a bear cause when you associate bears with honey it makes sense but not with a frog thats why its different"

For a more lyrical take, "Namaste" broke it down in verse:
"Give your honey some sugar and then bear down on him, smack him, dig 'em a hole, it gives you a golden oppurtunity to take his crisp dollars, and make them yours."

I also got a strong response on Facebook and Twitter when I posed the question to my networks. Most felt that Sugar Bear had more class, while Dig'em Frog had street cred. Everyone's passionate responses got me thinking about the glory days of cereal advertising and the personalities adopted by the greats (Trix Rabbit, Toucan Sam, Tony the Tiger etc.) and the imaginative stories they told in 30 seconds or less.

It also amazed me how sticky these commercials were, considering we're still voicing our opinions based on experiences from 15-20 years ago. Get it - "sticky" as in memorable AND sugary? Couldn't resist.

Multigrain Cheerios

Everyone loves Cheerios - delicious, nutritious, and they're even fun to play with (ask any toddler). Multigrain Cheerios are especially wonderful, because they taste great and don't need a bunch of extra sugar like regular Cheerios.

But, tastiness aside, I have a major problem with this product line extension. The way General Mills has promoted the cereal in the US is appalling to anyone in the advertising industry.

The following commercial makes me cringe every time I watch it.



There are so many problems with this ad. The actors voices are so poorly dubbed that it's distracting. The box design has been layered over an older box, making it stick out like a sore thumb. It just feels "off."

After doing a little research, it turned out that the ad was originally released in the UK with British actors. This explains the bad VO. Also, the box design across the pond is different from ours, so in order to make sure us Yanks wouldn't get confused, they superimposed the box design so we could easily make the connection between the commercial and the cereal at the store.

Here's the original ad so you can see the before/after:



I understand the trials of international marketing, and agree that audiences don't relate well to ads featuring actors with accents different from their own. But, is General Mills so cheap that they can't afford to shoot a new commercial or at least invest in some better post-production? Bloggers have been talking about this commercial for nearly two years noticing all of these issues and asking themselves the same questions. Talk about poor execution. I hate this ad, and think it should be used as a case study for what not to do when repurposing ads for different audiences.

Thankfully, the cereal is delicious and I'll buy it anyway. :)

Honey Bunches of Oats

This cereal is a crowd pleaser, as discovered by the MediaSauce mad dash to the kitchen this Monday morning. There is truly something in it for everyone. The texture variation is what got me hooked – I love the cruch of the bunches and the light crisp of the flakes (and the way they soften in milk after a few minutes). I even love all of the variations of this cereal (although I have yet to try “Just Bunches”… and did you know they’ve released one with chocolate?!).

Their campaigns showcasing factory workers spreading the joy about Honey Bunches of Oats with the public are the best. I love the consumer interaction and man-on-the-street interviews, as well as the featured personalities in the factory. Diana’s my favorite – she so passionate about this cereal and wants everyone else to love it, too. They’re even touring the country this summer (Taste the Joy Tour) to give out free samples and spread the good word of the Bunches.

If you get a chance, check out their website to meet the team and view their individual videos. I actually laughed out loud watching them – these people know how to party! You can also submit feedback and take a poll to tell Post how they can better “share the joy.”

Now all they need to do is set up individual Twitter accounts for these guys and see how fast they can share the joy in the Twitterverse. I’d love to learn more about the daily goings-on at that happiness factory, wouldn’t you?

Quaker Oats Honey Graham Oh's

For all you sugary cereal fans, the Cereal Club would like to present Quaker Honey Graham Oh's - the perfect indulgence for any closet kid cereal eater. If you want to appear like a respectable adult at the breakfast table, but still get your sweet fix, this cereal is for you.

Quaker Oats, now a division of Pepsi Co., has been around for over 130 years and has built up some serious brand equity. It’s one of my personal favorites. When I think of Quaker, I can almost taste the oatmeal my mom used to make for me on cold winter mornings and the chocolate chip granola bars she used to pack in my brown lunch bag. These mom-approved products have nutritional benefits but still taste great - everybody wins.

In 1996, the FDA issued the health claim that oatmeal was good for your heart. This was the first ever claim issued for a specific food by the FDA – pretty serious stuff. Quaker has been able to ride consumer health trends all the way to the bank. Even though a lot of their products contain enough sugar to turn us diabetic, we still associate the brand with words like health and approval.

Quaker Honey Graham Oh’s are not healthy, but I certainly do approve of their delicious crunchy texture and the way they turn milk into sweet sugary nectar. Yum yum.

This week's cereal was inspired by the positive experience I had with the Quaker brand last week, when the company used social media to engage with me via Twitter. I tweeted about a clever commercial for Quaker's Go Humans Go Campaign, which showed people flying to work with jetpacks fueled by Quaker Oatmeal.

I shared the link to the YouTube video and said I wanted an oatmeal jetpack. The next day I had a reply from Quaker's twitter account (@QuakerTalk) saying they also wanted an oatmeal jetpack. Check out their profile to see how they’re leading the conversation in the hot breakfast cereal category.

They are doing a great job utilizing Twitter to promote the brand and interact with consumers. The tone of voice is even spot-on with how I would expect the Quaker man to tweet. He talks about products, healthy living and company info and he’s very friendly and inviting (just like a warm bowl of oatmeal).

Kellogg's(R) Keebler(R) Cookie Crunch(TM) Cereal

Yes, the cereal that has more reserved and trademark citations than any other cereal, despite its magnificent alliteration. It is, like its name, gross.

I sampled this cereal the other day on a whim. Something about the shiny-ness of "NEW!!" across the top of the box made me think I should check it out. Plus, who can say no to tiny cookies and the slight creepiness in the potential for Keebler Elves in your cereal?

I figured this cookie crunch knockoff might be something special, or at least hold its own against the reigning champ whose Dog, Criminal, and Police Chub have pushed the brand loyalty for years. Of course, those three guys are gone. In cereal world news, Kellogg's is exploiting the fact that General Mills dropped these breakfast-time mascots (and probably some of that recognition of the cereal) to replace them with "Chip," a wolf whose tongue-to-teeth licking makes him look as if he's about to chow down on some tasty meal of red riding hood.

Anyway, my take on this stuff? It's terrible. They're using a cereal to push other Keebler products, and it's just not working out. The sugar tastes fake, and the aftertaste leaves something to be desired. Aftermilk is solid, but it's not enough to balance out the miserable experience that I'm sure the Keebler Elves certainly wouldn't approve of. Cereal Number: 4.