It might not sound like something that should make a difference, but a lot of people are well aware that putting a different label on something can up the sales in a big way thanks to the way this helps a person associate the product with a favorite aspect of pop culture. In other words, those expensive cereals and other items in the grocery store that a lot of people might not touch become more appealing when they have the likeness of a favorite celebrity on the front or are seen to promote a movie that happens to be popular at the time. The marketing teams back in the 80s locked onto this in a big way and made it possible for movies to gain even more prominence in the grocery store by creating images on cereal boxes to sell the products, which in many cases were themed to fit with the movie. The cereal pieces being shaped like something that was pertinent to the movie being promoted was even better, since kids, who are far more impressionable than most, couldn’t help but be amazed by cereal shaped like the bat signal or like Gremlins, or any other bunch of shapes that reminded them of their favorite movies.
Believe it or not, this appealed to adults as well, and the practice is still in place as it’s gone beyond the cereal boxes, though not that far beyond. Thankfully there aren’t any fruits or vegetables being produced in the shapes of various characters, but cookies, fruit snacks, frozen treats, and a few other items have taken this idea to heart. The gimmick was great when said movies were still around, and it’s still something that can be seen in the cereal aisle today since The Mandalorian and a few others have come up with their own brand of cereal since the show came to Disney+. Unlike the movies of the 80s though, cereals today either stick around for a while or they have limited runs, much as they did in the past, but with the full understanding that once the movie or show has been out for a while that the cereal will no longer be available.
The funny thing about this is that one can’t help but be amused by the fact that people are essentially paying for the artwork on the box, and not so much the cereal, which is often cheap to make and is very often the same material that’s been baked into different shapes and given a slightly different flavor depending on the cereal. Some might be sweetened, some might be left alone, but the point is that spending the money to make the cereals that different has never really been that big of a deal it would appear since the shape of the cereal and the box have been the biggest attractions when it comes to getting people to buy. I’ll be one of those that gladly admits that when the Ghostbusters cereal came out I wanted a box, along with various other cereals that were marketed with kids in mind. This is how they make their money after all, and it’s something that one can’t help but think is a smart move even as it’s another way to get people to spend their hard-earned money on something that’s no different than the brands that have stuck around longer than the movie-themed cereals.
People are going to be likely to eat corn puffs, sweetened cereal, and anything with sugary marshmallows no matter if it has an attractive picture on the box, but in the end, they’re all the same more or less, or rather, they all come from similar sources and aren’t so unique that they’ve become their own brand. That doesn’t erase the novelty of it by any means since even to this day I’d love to pick up a box of Batman or Ghostbusters-inspired cereal just to have at home. Sure, I might empty the cereal and keep the box as part of a collection, but the whole idea of bringing the cereals back would kind of make sense at this point when one really thinks about it, Indiana Jones 5 is coming, so is Ghostbusters: Afterlife and The Batman.
There is a reason to bring them back at this time, if only for a limited time obviously, but it would be a lot of fun for a lot of people no doubt. Given that nostalgia is such a big thing right now it might actually make a good deal of sense from a marketing standpoint since it could create a need for these products that would create a healthy profit based on something that people remember from their childhood. It could be worth it, especially if the products were a limited run that would give fans a sense of urgency.
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