|
|
March 4, 2017: DC Comics Fly Into General Mills Cereal Boxes
Posted by Neil Cole
The Justice League has come to the front, back and inside of several General Mills cereals.
It’s Big G’s latest partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, on behalf of DC Entertainment, available on boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios, Multi Grain Cheerios, Trix, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs and Cinnamon Toast Crunch (exclusively in Family Size).
“In brainstorming with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC, we were energized by the similarities and popularity of the Justice League characters and of our own cereal characters,” says Lisa Kessel, a marketing communications manager at General Mills. “DC shared that many of their artists were also huge cereal fans and we were excited to bring that love of cereal and the love of comics together in one holistic event.”
Six cereal boxes are getting a complete DC Super Hero makeover. The front of five boxes feature transformations of General Mills’ equity characters, and one box features Wonder Woman.
BuzzBee takes on the look of Batman, the Trix Rabbit of Superman, Lucky of Green Lantern, Sonny of The Flash, and the Crazy Squares team of Aquaman, Cyborg and Green Lantern.
These specially-marked boxes also include one of four exclusive DC comic books – titled “Power Play,” “Dark Reflections,” “Truth Hurts,” and “Alien Justice.”
And the action doesn’t stop there. The back of the boxes, when lined up, make a powerful three-feet-wide panoramic, designed by well-known comic book artist Ivan Reis.
"It’s huge, and it doesn’t even fit my drawing board,” says Reis. “While working on them, I would split it and assemble it back together all the time to see how the entire image looked.”
“The knowledge that countless people and children will see my art throughout every cereal aisle in the U.S. is something I never imagined to happen,” he adds. “Every morning, one child, or someone’s inner child, will spend a few minutes of their morning breakfast entertained, creating their own stories while savoring their cereal.”
Reis says the panoramic is a piece of art made of pure joy.
“The Super Heroes are in a moment of celebration. Everything in it evokes an awesome vibe, just as you’re supposed to do to start a good morning,” he says.
For Reis, the best part of the collaboration was having the opportunity to create a completely new form of art using the Justice League.
“It’s colorful, cheery, with no threats or problems. It’s the kind of art that touched me as a child whenever I saw something similar in the supermarket or a department store, and I hope this one can have the same effect on people of all ages,” he says. “I hope they will see it and think: ‘I’ve gotta have all those boxes!’”
Hope Zeckmeister, marketing communications planner for Big G partnerships, says cereal boxes and premiums are a big part of breakfast.
“These surprising package designs and comics are intended to create not only immediate enjoyment, but also memories at the breakfast table,” she says. “The process to bring these boxes to life was extremely collaborative between General Mills, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC because we wanted to ensure we got the artwork right and to pay tribute to both our characters and the members of the Justice League.”
The limited-edition boxes are available now through the end of April.
