The Battle For The Sun
Same Names for the Same Thing
Post and Kellogg’s have a competing product with a very striking similarity: they both call it Raisin Bran.
Second Lead In ‘Cause the First Was Too Short
Only Kellogg’s has Special K and only Post has Grape Nuts. So the precedent for nonsensical cereal names is well established and suggests that at least one of these companies could have easily come up with any other name for their “Raisin Bran”, no matter how misleading or absurd. Apparently in the stand off that ensued over this minimalist moniker, neither side swayed. Raisin Bran, a name that stands up alongside Macaroni and Cheese among brand names that leave nothing to the imagination, would have to be shared. Still, a distinction would have to be made and so began the battle for The Sun.
Selling It
The Sun, responsible for growing all of the ingredients in these foods and for drying the grapes into raisins was the obvious front runner and coveted super star (if you stopped reading right now, I would completely understand) for endorsing one of these products.
Selling Out
For a company to be successful, advertising is essential. A lot of money changes hands and competition is fierce. When you are at the top, celebrity endorsement can be the difference between the kids buying “The Cereal Lebron Eats” versus “the cereal Lebron used to eat but grew tired of because even though it was pretty good, the prize in the box was never quite right or easy enough to get.”
The Decision
There could be only one chosen and in the end, Kellogg’s secured the agreement with The Sun, leaving Post in the hot seat…in the dark…unsure of its future and Kellogg’s with a very, er, promising future.
The Heat Might Be Getting To Me
Everyone knows the rest of the story: Two Scoops!, et al. Though no one is quite sure why Kellogg’s decided on the picture of The Sun that it used on the box: mouth breathing smile, tongue appearing swollen and obstructive as if The Sun actually has a raisin allergy he’s trying to keep secret. And still The Sun is smiling. As for Post…well, they will always have Sugar Bear.
