The 80's Marketing Edition

Colin here. It’s a far cry from how I try to eat now, but as a kid I was a Cinnamon Toast Crunch devotee. On occasion I would dabble with Super Golden Crisp, or maybe some Count Chocula, but CTC was my go-to. What is astounding to me today about those heady elementary school days are (i) the level of thought created to cereal world building, (ii) the ethical complications of the brazen marketing to children, and (iii) how we were expected to focus in class a few hours after mainlining enough sugar to go do a full Sonic the Hedgehog loop. At least in my mind. 

Marketing brilliance was on full display—creating memorable characters and mental associations in a crowded and competitive grocery aisle. Lots of thought and research went into the static characters on the box, with their comical gazes firmly facing down to see the child from its perch. 

According to CBS back in 2014: 

A new study of cereal aisles at grocery stores found cereal products marketed to kids are placed half as high on shelves as cereals marketed for adults, so they can appear closer to eye level. The characters on the kids cereal boxes, such as the Trix Rabbit and Cap'n Crunch, also appeared to be looking downwards at a 9.7-degree angle, whereas characters on adult boxes looked straight ahead.

And, if you didn’t live through it and don’t have the messages burnt into your brain, Youtube offers a repository of classic cereal advertising (remember Trix are for kids?). A lot of money was spent, and a lot of creative time, energy, and media space went into fighting for share among cartoon characters. “Pester power” or children annoying their parents to buy a particular flavor or brand was what the advertisers were optimizing for. 

Why is this interesting? 

Turns out the golden age for this branding and distinctiveness to peddle sugar was in the 1980s. And it came about because of deregulation. Prior to the Reagan presidency, there were rules and regulations about advertising to children. And it wasn’t just for cereal, it was for a range of different products, toys, and worlds. 

According to Jamie Logie on Medium: 

With deregulation lifted, and no restrictions holding them back, manufacturers could now do whatever the hell they wanted. This is why you see an explosion of toys, cartoons, candy, fast food items, and junk food in the 1980s.

There was a 300% increase in cartoons that had licensed characters. As much as we loved these shows, let’s be realistic: They were nothing more than 22-minute commercials to sell toys and products.

“G.I. Joe” and “Transformers” are both notable standouts in taking advantage of deregulation. Both started with a short miniseries to launch the characters and backstory of their respective worlds. This would get kids up to speed with the main characters and vehicles they would soon be screaming for in stores.

It was proto branded content in a way. Cartoons and shows were vehicles to deepen a relationship (and lust) for the toy or the product. I never actually realized the nefarious trap that GI Joe was playing: each episode of the show would be focused on a specific new character or vehicle that would shortly be released. 

In the early 1990’s things came back to normal. Rules and regulations were put in place about advertising to children, in addition to limits on how much advertising could be placed in children’s programming. But on reflection, that 10 year stretch when I was growing up was a sugar addled, hyper commercialized weird one. (CJN)

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) 

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