Toaster Strudel, Ja?: General Mills Hopes So

A new ad campaign from Pillsbury (General Mills) featuring a Germanic-looking, lederhosen-clad  adolescent boy pitching Toaster Strudel signals a rising trend in food marketing: the use of brand mascots, “an old-school approach” – think Pillsbury Doughboy – rejuvenated in the era of digital social media. Toaster Strudel’s ads are, in fact,  timed to dovetail with the launch of the brand’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. The company’s strategy is a response generally to the malaise in breakfast cereal sales, and specifically to the $668 million Kellogg campaign for its Pop Tarts brand and its “Gone Nutty” peanut butter and chocolate varieties. One of the ads features an animated Pop Tart character swimming in a peanut butter spa.