CNN reports that Kellogg’s CEO Gary Pilnick is in a bit of hot water with people frustrated with how inflation has driven up food prices.
The story points out that Pilnick recently “said the company was advertising cereal for dinner to consumers looking for more affordable options. ‘Give chicken the night off,’ the ad’s cheery tagline reads. WK Kellogg owns cereals such as Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran and others.
“‘The cereal category has always been quite affordable, and it tends to be a great destination when consumers are under pressure,’ Pilnick said. ‘If you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they might otherwise do, that’s going to be much more affordable.’
“His advice hasn’t landed well with people frustrated by spending 26% more on groceries since 2020; on social media the campaign is being seen as insensitive.”
KC’s View:
People on social media ought to just relax a little bit.
So, I grew up as the oldest of seven children. My dad was a public school educator, and my mom ran the household. My dad got paid on the first of the month, and during that first week, we tended to have steak and chicken. As we got further into the month, there was a lot of tuna noodle casserole, and by the final days of the month, we were eating scrambled eggs or cereal for dinner.
And we were fine with that. In fact, we were thrilled if there were sliced bananas to put atop our cereal.
Public school educators didn’t make a lot of money, especially if they had seven kids at home. (Good Catholics, my parents.) And so Dad would also buy cheap powdered milk and mix it with gallons of liquid milk, looking for ways to stretch both the product and a buck.
No shame in any of that. He did what he needed to do. And we were fine.(Though I still can’t forgive my mom for those damned canned red beets.)
I’m not sure that I would’ve built an ad campaign around it, but cereal for dinner is a perfectly acceptable option. The fact that it is not acceptable to some people actually ignores the fact for a lot of people who struggle even when inflation is not a factor, cereal for dinner often is the best they can do.
The post Is Kellogg’s CEO A Cereal Killer? appeared first on MNB.
View Original Article
