The tough economic times have affected food prices and consumers’ wallets. In a interview with CNBC says Kellogg’s CEO about the company’s new marketing for customers who are having a tough time.
– Flakes have always been very affordable and customers usually turn to them when they are under pressure, says CEO Gary Pilnick and adds.
– And we have to be able to reach the customers, so we advertise cereal for dinner.
The prompt: Swap dinner for cereal
In the “Give the chicken an evening off” campaign, Kellogg’s encourages families to replace their evening meal with a bowl of cereal. Unlike food, cereal is described as an easy and cheap alternative, reports Sky News.
According to Kellogg’s, quite a few people have already bought into the message.
– Over 25 percent of our consumption today takes place outside of breakfast. A large portion is at dinner and it continues to grow, says Gary Pilnick.
Compared to Marie Antoinette
Pilnick believes that cereals are a cheaper alternative than food and that consumption has therefore changed.
– Cereals for dinner are probably a trend now and we think it will continue as consumers are under pressure, says Kellogg’s CEO Gary Pilnick.
In the CNBC interview, Pilnick says he doesn’t think the campaign would rub off on people, but the criticism has been harsh.
His remarks have been compared to Marie Antoinette’s famous, but somewhat misquoted, quote “let them eat cake” when she found out the people had nothing to eat, The Guardian reports.
“Exploiting the hungry to make money”
Democratic Senator Peter Welch also criticized the pay levels at Kellogg’s, pointing out that it would take one worker at Kellogg’s 96 years to earn Gary Pilnick’s $4 million annual salary.
“People shouldn’t have to eat cereal for dinner, what’s needed is for companies to stop cheating them,” Welch wrote on X.
The American writer and politician Marianne Williamson has also come down hard on Kelloggs after the statements and criticizes the entire financial system.
“Advertising that cereal is a good idea for dinner for poor people is not ‘meeting them.’ They are exploiting the hungry to make money“, writes Williamson at X.