Reviving Beloved Mascots by Telling Stories

General Mills has a cast of iconic mascots. The Cheerios Kid, the Trix Rabbit, Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, the Monsters and Sir Charms the Leprechaun have entertained kids for decades and made breakfast an exciting experience.

The earliest incarnations of the characters were, I think, the most creative and fun. In the 1960s, the cereal commercials told stories and let us empathize with the personalities of the characters. They had great design, but they also had personality and charm, something missing from much advertising today.

TRIX RABBIT DREAMS

I think we could bring the classic GM characters back to life, not just s logos, but as characters that kids want to spend time with. We can tell new stories and bring back the fun atmosphere of breakfast time that existed in the 1950s and 60s.

THE ORIGINAL SONNY THE CUCKOO BIRD
Today we have more media to play with: Internet, mobile, video games and as always, television. We can do more now than they could even back when cereal was so much fun 40 and 50 years ago.

I think the trick is to tell stories again, and not just animate flashy special fx like many other cereal companies do.

THE CHEERIOS KID SAVES A TRAIN AND SELLS CEREAL AT THE SAME TIME

We should take our cue from the classic General Mills commercials. They not only sold the product, they entertained and told stories. Kids looked forward to the commercials in the old days, just as if they were cartoon shows themselves.