Why the Edible Pop-Tarts Bowl Mascot Will Live On in Marketing

By now you have all read and seen and probably even eaten Pop-Tarts as a result of the Pop-ular marketing campaign created by Kellanova at the Pop-Tarts Bowl featuring Strawberry, the first edible mascot. And yes, the numbers are impressive:

- ESPN's TikTok of Strawberry, the real star of the Pop-Tarts Bowl (which teams were playing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl anyway??), had more than 4 million views

- It's the single biggest earned media campaign the brand has ever had, which generated $12.1 million in media exposure. The brand paid A LOT less than that for the exposure given the total sponsorship income was ~$2 million

What is more impressive is that it was a completely positive (no comments about the toaster sacrifice), feel-good campaign that everyone could enjoy and get behind. In this day and age in a country that seems and is so divided, that's powerful and appreciated! Kudos to the marketing team, the agencies, and everyone involved in bringing Strawberry to all of us. Not only did you grow your brand and increased sales, but you also put a smile on a lot of people's sticky Pop-Tart faces.

Reference articles:

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/edible-pop-tarts-bowl-mascot-lessons-marketing/

https://www.fastcompany.com/91003792/the-pop-tarts-bowl-featured-the-ritual-sacrifice-of-the-brand-mascot-it-was-weird-but-was-it-smart

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