Cheerios Advertising in American Popular Culture



Staying true to who they are, Cheerios in the year 2000 until present day, have continued to claim their health benefits despite the negative ambience of their sugary flavored 80’s and 90’s. With the turn of the new millennium, Cheerios marketing team came out with Millenios to bring in the new era. This limited edition cereal shaped in doughnut circles, also included the number 2. Dick Clark counted down the new millennium with Cheerios as the official cereal of the new millennium. This cereal was first advertised and introduced right in Times Square in New York. General Mills’ even advertised the cereal on a billboard right in Times Square, which was a first for the cereal giant. Millenios was packaged in a box that could be kept as a time capsule, and was embellished with unique metallic ink. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for General Mills’ and Cheerios. One that marked them as the cereal of the new millennium. In keeping with their endeavor to help those with educational and health service’s needs, Cheerios donated more than $25,000 dollars from celebrity autographed auctioned boxes of Millenios.
To continue to meet the varying needs of consumers for years to come, General Mills’ has renewed its health benefits by holding true to the age old claims of the health benefits that Cheerios offers. The advertising claim of being heart healthy, and how by eating Cheerios can help lower your cholesterol, is not new, but one that is inherently aimed at consumers. The FDA saw things a bit differently, and looked to discredit those claims. They gave General Mills’ a warning and said either prove your claims, or drop the advertising labels that states that it lower’s cholesterol and heart disease risk levels. Shortly afterwards the food and drug administration approved the claim, stating that foods that have soluble fiber will inherently help with heart health. Fiber is also a catalyst in the fight against high cholesterol. This was a winning solution for Cheerios and its health advertising debacles. Advertising soon afterward, depicted a red heart shaped bowl on the front of boxes to remind consumers of its health benefits. The years leading afterwards, consumers found themselves with another health debate. Gluten is in pretty much everything we eat today. If you ask those with Celiac disease, or an intolerance of gluten, most will agree that it is an unwanted ingredient. Cheerios choosing to remain a healthy breakfast choice, has gone gluten free. They offer several brands that have are gluten free.
Advertising thru the years with Cheerios, has bounced back and forth from animated mascots, fruity flavors, real people, and health claims since its conception in the 1940’s. Cheerios’ advertising success has been focused clearly on the evolving health concerns of consumers, and vow’s to continue to meet the needs of the American diets as they evolve.