I never realized breakfast cereal was essential.
But for a parent, a beloved cereal is crucial because it helps maintain normalcy for children. It also gives kids a go-to, self-service option when a parent is too busy to feed them.
It took a great Kellog’s commercial that was uplifting and optimistic without being cheesy to remind me of why cereal is essential. The combination of vivid imagery, upbeat music, and plenty of cute kids really nails it.
Kellog’s recognizes the thousands of people it takes to transform corn into corn flakes in a really effective way. But it also subtly reminds parents that it solves a real problem – what’s for breakfast. Anyone who has children understands this is a real pain point.
This type of messaging is particularly important during the essential economy. There’s a real temptation to slash the advertising budget, especially now. That’s risky.
Everyone has plenty of time at home to revisit all their purchasing habits. Folks need to – because so many people are either out of work, making less money, or worried about their jobs. There aren’t a lot of non essential products being bought right now. Capital One reported credit card volumes down 30% in the first half of April.
Even when the pandemic is over, many of those purchases might permanently leave the family budget. Spending money on good advertising now, reminding people of why they bought a product in the first place, is probably good business.
The Great Refactoring 