Quaker to ambush Kellogg with 1m football campaign

Quaker is hoping to ambush Kellogg’s Euro 96 sponsorship deal, with a 1m football-themed advertising campaign and a temporary reformulation of its flagship cereal brand, Sugar Puffs.

Quaker will replace 15 to 20 per cent of the regular cereal packs over the next 12 weeks, with the limited-edition Honey Monster’s Football Sugar Puffs, containing banana and chocolate flavoured corn footballs.

This will be backed with a 1m ad campaign through Young & Rubicam, featuring two new creative executions starring Kevin Keegan and the Honey Monster.

The spots will appear in May to highlight the limited-edition football puffs and a promotion offering free models of football stars.

Quaker hopes the tactics will spoil Kellogg’s official use of the Euro 96 logo on its Cornflakes, Frosties, Rice Krispies, Coco Pops, Raisin Wheats, Frosted Wheats and Start brands.

Kellogg has bought the rights to be a product supplier of Euro 96, allowing the company to call itself the “official breakfast cereal” of the tournament, and to use the championship logo in promotion and advertising.

Holograms of footballers will be given away in packs of the four biggest brands, while smaller brands will run a Euro 96 competition.

Quaker has a 3.8 per cent value share of the ready-to-eat cereal market (Nielsen, March 1996), compared with Kellogg’s 50.4 per cent, Weetabix’s 13 per cent, Cereal Partners’ 12 per cent and own-label brands’ 17.9 per cent.