🧁 The Pop Tarts Bowl Was Created For The Memes

Last week was the second annual Pop Tarts Bowl, the US college football game sponsored by Kellanova, the CPG company behind Pringles, Cheez-Its, Rice Krispies, and Pop Tarts.

Following on traditions started at last year’s chaotic and creative Pop Tarts Bowl, we saw:
🏈 Dancing Pop Tarts mascots ripping off their packaging the way Hulk Hogan rips off his shirt.

🏈 The game’s trophy designed in the shape of a toaster that works as a literal toaster if you plug it in.

🏈 The winning team’s quarterback picking the Cinnamon Roll Pop Tart mascot to be “sacrificed” into a giant toaster and then turned into an edible Pop Tart that’s actually eaten afterwards.

🏈 At one point, there was an “in memoriam” video being played for the “Strawberry” flavor Pop Tart who was sacrificed at the 2023 game.

This elevated Pop Tarts’ sponsorship:

They didn’t just slap their brand logo onto a football but built a creative concept to make Pop Tarts culturally relevant. They engineered an idea optimized to be viral and memeable.

Pop Tarts reportedly sold 21 Million more products in the eight weeks after the game vs. the eight weeks prior to the game.

The media spectacle doesn’t begin and end with the Pop Tarts Bowl itself. It lives on via the memes, remixes, and commentary.

Brands who sponsor sports events should look to the Pop Tarts Bowl as inspiration for doing more creative sponsorship activation.

What’s especially important for young people — Pop Tarts doesn’t take itself too seriously. That’s a key philosophy. Like Duolingo or Ryanair on TikTok, brands who are fun, authentic, and slightly unhinged can drive desirability…

Consumers today are fatigued by traditional advertising. To break into popular culture, you need to truly add value. You need to entertain, inspire, and get a little wild sometimes.

Originally published at https://venndiagrams.substack.com on January 2, 2025.