Cereal Company General Mills has announced a new non-branded children’s television health advertising campaign designed to communicate the benefits of breakfast.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
“The new ‘Choose Breakfast’ advertising campaign is unique in the industry because it is the first nonbranded advertising campaign of this scale. We’ll reach more kids with Choose Breakfast than any other child effort we’ve done before,” said General Mills chief marketing officer Mark Addicks. “We have taken our insights on how to communicate health to kids and have developed advertising that will impact children in a very positive way.”
“This is exactly what a leader in the food industry should be doing,” said Elizabeth Lascoutx, vice president and director of the Children’s Advertising Review Unit. “Ensuring that positive, nonbranded health messages like Choose Breakfast are being delivered to children is not only responsible, but commendable.”
Numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of breakfast to school performance, the company said. The results of a two-year study conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Education Achievement indicate that when students started the day with a nutritious breakfast, test scores increased over a period of time and discipline problems dropped up to 50%. Yet, according to a survey from Datamonitor, one in four Americans starts the day without breakfast, and the number of missed breakfasts is forecast to grow by 11.5% over the next five years.
“We believe cereal is one of the best breakfasts a kid can eat,” said Eric Lucas, General Mills vice president of marketing for Big G cereals. “It is low in fat and is nutrient-rich for the number of calories it has per serving. Importantly, if it’s any General Mills Big G cereal, it also provides either a good or excellent source of whole grain.”
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataEating cereal for breakfast also has a healthy impact on body weight. Independent research has consistently shown that frequent cereal eaters, both adults and children, have healthier body weights.
“Those who would criticize the sugar in presweetened cereals need to look at the science,” said Susan Crockett of the Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition. “Cereal, both presweetened and nonsweetened, makes up less than 5% of a child’s daily sugar intake. But in return, a bowl of cereal with milk provides a wide variety of important nutrients including calcium, iron, folic acid and B vitamins all for about 120 calories per serving.”
“The ads show kids in aspirational, fun settings with the health benefits of breakfast articulated in kid terms of ‘think fast,’ ‘have power’ and ‘get going,’” said Lucas. “The advertising will inspire kids and is in line with how kids process communication around health benefits.”
