Beloved cereal goes 'serial killer dark' for new ad

Rising up, cereal wasn’t upright breakfast; it was once a snack and frequently my model of dessert.

I’d pour some genuine into a cup (dry, no milk) and snack on it whereas watching TV. I’d rotate between no matter producers we had in the pantry, however the sugary ones were always the correct. They felt special, recognize a take care of I wasn’t speculated to hang too usually.

My authorized, hands down, was once Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I’d attach it apart for closing recognize the reward it was once. The flavour? Unmatched. The cinnadust? Iconic. Even the shrimp crunch it made was once gratifying.

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It wasn’t upright a cereal...it was once an skills. And based on how usually it confirmed up in my mates’ snack bags or celebration sleepovers, I wasn’t the most simple one who felt that system.

This showcase day, I don’t salvage the same cravings for sweet, processed cereal. I’m more of a neatly-organized-ingredient, protein-heavy, "what has the fewest additives?" kind of client now. However I peaceful hang a soft predicament for the classics, in particular the ones tied to childhood.

So after I seen the new Customary Mills ad for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I executed scrolling. All I'm in a position to allege is that whoever came up with that campaign deserves a elevate.

That thing had serial-killer vitality and breakfast-stage attraction, and I was once now not ready.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch goes paunchy good crime

The brand new Cinnamon Toast Crunch campaign "Must Cinnadust" doesn’t upright dip a toe into sad humor. It dives headfirst into paunchy-blown cereal cannibalism. And in a technique, it works.

In one ad titled "Fridge," a lone cereal sq. confesses in voiceover, "I didn't should be this method...I do know how horrific it's" whereas peering genuine into a fridge stuffed with physique parts...of different cereal squares.

Any other exhibits a sq. stalking its subsequent victim in a relieve alley. There’s even a six-second clip the attach plastic wrap is conscientiously unrolled earlier than the attack — clearly nodding to the prep scenes in "American Psycho" or "Dexter."

It’s creepy. It’s absurd. It’s also kind of fine.

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Based on Marketing Dive, the ingenious ad comes from The Martin Company, which said the Customary Mills crew leaned into the shock designate early on. They weren’t terrified to salvage strange, because strange sticks, in particular with Gen Z (and let's be appropriate, me too).

This skills grew up with these cereal mascots. Now, as older teens and young adults, they’re hungry for convey that’s smarter, more layered, and entirely self-conscious.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch didn’t modernize its stamp...it upright grew to was the nostalgia dial as a lot as 11 and added a physique depend.

Why going sad could repay for Customary Mills

If this campaign has me sending the video to my millennial mates, you label it’s slicing through. That kind of organic buzz is exactly what producers scuttle, and it will maybe translate into staunch change outcomes.

Truly, Customary Mills’ cereal revenue dipped slightly of in 2024 to $3.19 billion, down from $3.21 billion the year earlier than. With notify softening, bold ingenious could be much less of a gamble and more of a necessity.

The ads weren’t upright humorous. They were engineered for shareability. And in a convention obsessed with good crime and sad humor, it hits exactly the correct nerve.

Stay-movement visuals, meme-great one-liners, and blink-and-you’ll-omit-it Easter eggs (recognize cookbooks titled "Killer Recipes" and "Breakfast to Die For") made them ideal for TikTok, Instagram, and commentary videos.

The campaign was once a convention fall — designed to are residing all the method in which through fragmented feeds, pop up in unexpected areas, and be talked about.

Cereal isn’t exactly a notify class, so getting youthful audiences to care all over again is an staunch procure.

Because let's be staunch — in case your cereal isn’t going slightly off the rails in 2025, are you even marketing and marketing?

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