I Wrote to Kellogg's, And They Wrote Back!!!

I took a media literacy class last semester. One of our assignments was to write to some media corporation, advertising agency, channel, etc. about an aspect of their product that we were pleased (or displeased) with. The goal of the assignment was to give us practice being active consumers of media and letting our voices be heard if there was something we do not agree with. I chose to write to Kellogg's about their Nutri-Grain bar advertisements.

Have you seen these? Totally offensive. First, they use the female body to sell a product (a rampant problem in media). Secondly, the ads suggest that having a cinnamon bun or crescent roll in the morning as opposed to a nutri-grain bar will condemn you to "buns and rolls" of your own. My thoughts: do we really need to stoop to capitalizing on female body insecurity to sell a breakfast bar? I don't think so.

 So here's the letter I wrote for my assignment, followed by the one they wrote back to me! :)

 Dear Mr. Baynes,

 I am writing as a concerned consumer. I recently saw a disturbing Nutri-Grain advertisement. This poster had a woman with two large cinnamon rolls for a bottom and the caption, “respect yourself in the morning.” This advertisement was for Nutri-Grain’s apple cinnamon breakfast bars. Though attention-catching, this ad did not motivate me to eat apple cinnamon breakfast bars; rather, it discouraged me from supporting this product. Please allow me to explain why, and what I hope can be done in the future so that I may continue to purchase Kellogg’s’ goods.

 I feel that this advertisement is degrading to females. Some women are body-conscious, and I believe that this Nutri-Grain advertisement capitalizes on this insecurity. Distorting the female body image to sell a product seems very unnecessary to me. In fact, I find it disrespectful. As an educated and thoughtful consumer, I find it illogical to assume that choosing alternative foods over a Nutri-Grain bar will destroy my self-respect and add inches to my waistline. It is wrong to represent females in such a body-conscious and self-oriented light, and I feel this advertisement may only add to the growing problem of female body consciousness.

 I hope to have a family one day, and I want my children to appreciate women for their intellect and acts of kindness. I do not want them to be exposed to advertisements that negatively represent women’s bodies and place emphasis on what they must do to be thinner. I believe that Kellogg’s produces wonderful products, and I enjoy eating Nutri-Grain bars. I encourage Nutri-Grain to employ more positive advertising messages. Rather than use a degrading poster based on weight gain or loss, please emphasize that fact that healthy foods give a person greater energy or strength. Please do not pinpoint and degrade overweight females. This type of negative advertising does not encourage your consumers to support you. I am happy to purchase Kellogg’s products so long as its advertisements reflect positive values and do not perpetuate psychological harm.

 Sincerely, Melinda Cummings

 The return letter:

 Dear Ms. Cummings,

 Thank you for your comments regarding advertising for our Kellog's Nutri-Grain cereal bars. Since we care how consumers perceive messages conveyed through our advertising, your feedback is appreciated and is being shared with our marketing department. Our Global Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Mark Baynes, shared your letter with me and asked me to respond on his behalf.

 The goal of our advertisements is to encourage consumers to include Kellogg's Nutri-Grain cereal bars as a better option in their diet than others in their diet to help manage their weight. We are always trying to maintain a positive message within our advertising. You will be pleased to know that we have refocused our advertising strategy for Nutri-Grain bars to "Take Care of Yourself". In fact, if you "Like" Nutri-Grain on Facebook, you can learn more about our current promotion where you can share how you take care of yourself so you can take care of others. We hope you find this new campaign as well as our future advertisements more acceptable.

 Sincerely,

 Carie Wolters Sr. Manager Consumer Operations Consumer Affairs Department

Hooray for media literacy! I need to write them back and say that I appreciate the response. I think one time Mom and Dad helped me write a TV show after I saw an episode that freaked me out. I was 5ish, so I think I asked them if they could show more shows like Bananas in Pajamas...they were kind enough to answer that one. Politely. :) Oh well. One voice at a time, you know? Cool stuff!