Frosted Flakes has revealed an animatronic Tony the Tiger as part of its new ‘Let Your Great Out’ positioning
Frosted Flakes has launched a new brand positioning targeted towards tweens and dads as it strives to breathe new life into the 64-year-old brand.
Tony the Tiger
The cereal brand began the roll out of its new positioning earlier this year with a campaign called ‘Let Your Great Out,’ which launched in late July with a TV spot that shows a young girl in a wheelchair who overcomes her self-doubt and visits a skate park with none other than Tony the Tiger.
Created by Leo Burnett, the campaign is rooted in research commissioned by the brand that found that “70 percent of tweens wish they had more opportunities to share what makes them great with others,” while “81 percent of dads wish their tween had more opportunities to share what makes him/her great with others.”
“We know that teens often need a little bit of a nudge to really feel comfortable and encouraged to let their great out in their own unique way," said Christie Crouch, associate director of brand marketing for Kellogg's.
On Thursday, the brand is revealing an animatronic Tony the Tiger that will speak at a press conference in New York City to help launch the new positioning. Frosted Flakes enlisted the help of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to bring the mascot to life in animatronic form.
“He can actually talk and make facial expressions,” said Crouch. “You will hear a voice coming from him with words coming right out of his mouth. He is able to be much more mobile and agile. He’s going to be able to dance, sing, walk and talk directly with people.”
The new Tony the Tiger will make appearances at various locations throughout the fall, according to Crouch. In addition to his animatronic debut, Tony’s look will be updated across all Frosted Flakes advertising to give him a more “modern and contemporary” feel, and new packaging that puts the mascot “front and center” is set to roll out as well.
According to data from Nielsen, there is a declining familiarity of Tony the Tiger among today’s tweens. The brand is hoping its revamped Tony the Tiger will appeal to Gen Z as well as their dads, who are “eating other cereals more than Frosted Flakes,” according to Kellogg’s.
Frosted Flakes has also enlisted actor Alfonso Ribeiro as spokesperson for the new campaign. In a statement, Ribeiro said that he is partnering with Frosted Flakes to “help dads and tweens appreciate and exude that greatness that they tend to be shy about.”
‘Let Your Great Out’ unifies two of the brand’s campaigns that have been running simultaneously over the past few years. Launched in 2010, ‘Share What You Love with Who You Love’ has been targeting dads for the past six years, while ‘Show Your Stripes’ has been the cereal brand’s tween-focused effort since 2012.
According to Frosted Flakes, the Kellogg’s cereal has seen its largest year-over-year growth in three years in the last four-week period, something it is attributing to the new ‘Let Your Great Out’ positioning, which is running across TV, digital and social channels. While Kellogg’s has taken a hit in recent months as consumers look for healthier breakfast options – its sales fell 6.6 percent last quarter, marking its sixth straight quarter of decline – Frosted Flakes is still the company’s best-selling kids cereal.