I love the cereal isle. Where else can you stand at the confluence of marketing coercion, the sugar cartels, and the iconic hallmark of obscene consumer ultra-choice? Not to mention the cutting edge product innovation? Magically delicious marshmallow moons that turn into colorful rainbows when you add milk? Sugary wafers with tongue tattoos? Obviously Kellogg’s and Post are shadow R&D arms for the Defense and Intelligence community because the advancements in cereal technology are so clearly cutting edge…
Last night however, I was walking through the cereal isle and was struck by Kellogg’s new effort to save the the world one bowl at a time with Kellogg’s “Wild Animal Crunch”. No, really, that’s the name and one better there was a heart melting picture of two baby seals on the front of the recycled composite colorful box (in very earthy green “we care” tones to emphasize the serious nature of this breakfast food). Little seal shaped chocolate vanilla crunchy morsels… Yum!
Chocolatey Delicious!
So who are they selling this too? The Greenpeace dude that accosted me yesterday on Connecticut Ave to enlist in their global warming army could not possibly want to eat sugar coated baby seals, lemurs, pandas or polar bears (as the ice sheets melt maybe this is Kellogg’s answer to the commodity bubble in grains?). Most people, I’m only positive, when offered “wild animal crunch” would expect it to be a bad joke or maybe something Bear Grylls would be stuck eating in the middle of the Congo. And, other than the misty-eyed heart tugging “Daddy look at the cute baby seal” inspiring animal picture even my 12 year old daughter had to laugh at the though of eating “wild animal crunch.”
Be a Voice for Animals
Well, they’ve at least grabbed a hold of my post-moderm cynicism. The tag line of what is apparently a joint effort between Kellogg’s and AnimalPlanet.com is “Be a voice for Animals…”. Kellogg’s site really doesn’t provide any details so I followed the link to AnimalPlanet.com to find out more.
“Animal Planet is partnering with leading animal organizations to inspire people like you to make the world a better place for animals. Together, we have the power to improve the lives of animals in our communities and in the wild. Simple things like volunteering at a local shelter, spreading the word about conservation, supporting a favorite animal cause or walking an elderly person’s dog can make a difference. Even the smallest act has an impact. Join us in our passion to help animals.”
Nope. I don’t see “eating a bowl of cereal” listed in there although maybe its inferred in the reference to “even the smallest effort” as a way to improve the lives of animals. Maybe there’s a better clue under “Ways to Get Involved” ? No mention of eating breakfast there either. “How to Help Pets”? Nevermind the contradiction between “pets” and “wild” animals (evidently feeding your hamster somehow comforts spotted owls), but no mention of eating cereal there either.
Moral Hazard… I mean, Promise to Help
The only thing I found was a webform that you can submit a promise to help animals. It’s free-form, no purchase necessary and the only limitation is “Kids — you have to be 18 years old to make a promise” (Umm… yeah, who is the target market for the cereal again?). Just give them your name, personal information and in 1000 characters or less, describe your promise to help animals. So I made my promise:
“To help the plight of animals, end the genocide in Sudan, halt global warming, and bring peace to the middle east I promise to eat a bowl of Kellogg’s Wild Animal Crunch.”
I was inspired and figured I’d help a couple other causes while I was at it… and do I feel better! Yeay me! Me and Mother Teresa, saints. I feel all warm inside. This has got to be the best form of activism out there. Do nothing, commit nothing and feel better about You! Corporate non-involvement, personal non-commitment, cute baby animal pictures… everybody wins and no one actually had to do anything. I just can decide between marketing and faux activism… oh wait, it’s the same thing – meaningless. Perfect!
I suppose it is, in the end, just about buying more cereal. Bummer. I’m only certain Adam Smith is spinning in his grave, if he had seen how far his capitalism theory could be perverted I’m only certain he would have put the pen down and had a pint with his cousin Sam Adams.
July 25, 2008 at 2:51 am
great writing style, quite thought-provoking !
July 25, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Reading this post this morning is something of a funny accompaniment to having written an article I wrote last night on providing proper incentives to get people to participate in an action. If it’s all incentive and no hardship, I suggested, you’re likely not talking about an action – you’re likely talking about a party – or an ad campaign in this case, I guess.
July 25, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I read your post and I think we’re both treading on a similar thread. As you say, “if it’s all incentive and no hardship… you’re likely not talking about action” and I agree. Social cause has become a great marketing gimmick and while there are great examples like Product(RED) that actually do something there appear to be just as many “Wild Animal Crunch” types that essentially follow a “me centered” feeling of having done something good without actually having done anything (as opposed to there being a selfless catalyst).
I’ve recently read Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody” which you might be interested in. The book is a great analysis of the effects and potential of social networks and loose organization. The book shares some themes with Benkler’s “The Wealth of Networks” but is so much easier to read (not knocking Benkler’s book which is excellent although very dense).
August 15, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Oh, Thanks! Really amazing. Big ups!
September 20, 2008 at 4:14 pm
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