Rooster Booster: Kellogg’s Put on a Show

Back in 1998 in their song “Jayou”, Jurassic 5 rapped the line “Snap, crackle, pop-pop, fizz-fizz”, nodding to the classic Kellogg’s slogan for Rice Krispies. Now, a generation later, Kellogg’s are returning the favour, using that old school hip-hop tune as the soundtrack for their striking new ad. The song soundtracks the return of Cornelius The Cockerel, a brand mascot since the 1950s, who now reappears striding through a city attracting surprise, delight and awe.

It’s an ad which restores some swagger to a well-loved and distinctive brand asset. Cornelius is strutting his super-size stuff thanks to agency Leo Burnett, and they’re aiming to celebrate the boost which starting a morning with a Kellogg’s breakfast gives. The ad ends with Cornelius on top of a building, giving his early morning “Cock-a-doodle-do” cry, and the tagline “See You In The Morning”.  It’s an upbeat, dramatic and confident bit of work whose energy is well suited to shaking people out of any post-Christmas blues.

“Jayou” is a great choice to accompany the ad, not least because of that “Snap, crackle, pop” line. But there’s another line from the song and the commercial which sums up the power of great advertising in general: “We’re known to give a show and handle our business”.

It’s superb advice for any brand. As our most recent report, Compound Creativity, explains, investment in creativity over time and long-term assets is certainly good business. But part of what makes it work is a commitment to ‘giving a show’ – putting something in front of the audience which entertains and surprises them. Something like a Godzilla-sized green rooster, for instance. Cornelius’ star turn here is a terrific example of Kellogg’s putting a new spin on an old asset, leveraging creative consistency while giving it a fresh and startling look.

So how do the public react to the new Kellogg’s campaign and slogan? Positively. The ad scores a good 3.8-Stars on our Test Your Ad platform, above the average for Cereals, and it also gets a strong score on short-term Spike. A masterbrand refresh like this has a tricky line to tread between introducing new ideas and assets – like the “See You In The Morning” slogan – and reinforcing old ones. Kellogg’s have kept this ad focused on the overall brand rather than specific occasions or cereal lines, and in doing so they’ve laid a strong foundation for future, more brand-focused work in the campaign.