Nearly half of the commercials on Nickelodeon ( I have a correspondent to watch for me because I’m busy reading a newspaper) feature some kind of sugar-tastic cereal. I’m fine with that. Kids can eat nearly anything they want anyway without getting sick, so why make them only eat salad and whole grain crap. No, my real annoyance comes from the mascots in the commercials. Why is it that every mascot either has all of the cereal to himself and won’t share with anyone else, or he doesn’t have any cereal and he never will? This is by far the worst message we can be sending to children. “Kids, if you have something nice, never let anyone else share with you. On a separate note, there is always a reason to be discontent: just think of all those things you don’t have and you want.” When you wonder how those pesky kids in the supermarket got to be that way, just think of those commercials.
Good mascots for cereal are few and far between. Without a doubt Tony the Tiger ranks as the best mascot, and in addition, he was named Time Magazine’s Most Fascinating Animal of 2011. So he gets props right off the bat, especially because he promotes team-playing, hard work, and yummy flakes. Sadly, most cereal mascots are depressing characters, such as Sonny the Cuckoo Bird. Sonny has had a problem for years, and each time we see where he is in life, he gives in to his addiction. He can’t just have a bowl-full; he’s friggin’ Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs! Although this advertisement does educate children about manic depression in birds, it fails to teach them about the importance of moderation (and other food groups). L.C. Leprechaun, better known simply as “Lucky”, has molded the minds of many young children. Putting aside the fact that he has the ability to ride rainbows, he is a rotten, miserly little creature. This character enforces greediness in young people, and I’ll argue the only real contributions his commercials have are giving viewers a better knowledge of what Irish people actually sound like.
I find the Trix rabbit to be irritating. There is one message to take from Trix commercials: if you are a bad thief, you’ll always get caught. The rabbit rarely comes up with an intelligent idea to steal the Trix. I do not consider tip-toeing in the kitchen while the children are in the next room to be sneaky. Now, I do not condone stealing (or being a cartoon), but the Trix rabbit is bad at his job. He only gives the false idea that robbers are light-hearted and easy-to-confront people, a lesson I learned the hard way when I told a large gentleman on the train to give me my iPod back. “iPods are for kids!” I yelled at him, at which point he socked me in the stomach and presumably listened to all of my Frankie Valli tracks.
I’m not going to bother with any more amusing anecdotes, but I will say this: All you cereal mascots better get your crap together real soon, or I’m going to be mildly upset. Tony the Tiger, this message does not apply to you, because you are clearly a moral, law-abiding tiger (nor does it apply to Count Chocula because he’s a funny guy). Toucan Sam, you are on my watch-list.
Good mascots for cereal are few and far between. Without a doubt Tony the Tiger ranks as the best mascot, and in addition, he was named Time Magazine’s Most Fascinating Animal of 2011. So he gets props right off the bat, especially because he promotes team-playing, hard work, and yummy flakes. Sadly, most cereal mascots are depressing characters, such as Sonny the Cuckoo Bird. Sonny has had a problem for years, and each time we see where he is in life, he gives in to his addiction. He can’t just have a bowl-full; he’s friggin’ Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs! Although this advertisement does educate children about manic depression in birds, it fails to teach them about the importance of moderation (and other food groups). L.C. Leprechaun, better known simply as “Lucky”, has molded the minds of many young children. Putting aside the fact that he has the ability to ride rainbows, he is a rotten, miserly little creature. This character enforces greediness in young people, and I’ll argue the only real contributions his commercials have are giving viewers a better knowledge of what Irish people actually sound like.
I find the Trix rabbit to be irritating. There is one message to take from Trix commercials: if you are a bad thief, you’ll always get caught. The rabbit rarely comes up with an intelligent idea to steal the Trix. I do not consider tip-toeing in the kitchen while the children are in the next room to be sneaky. Now, I do not condone stealing (or being a cartoon), but the Trix rabbit is bad at his job. He only gives the false idea that robbers are light-hearted and easy-to-confront people, a lesson I learned the hard way when I told a large gentleman on the train to give me my iPod back. “iPods are for kids!” I yelled at him, at which point he socked me in the stomach and presumably listened to all of my Frankie Valli tracks.
I’m not going to bother with any more amusing anecdotes, but I will say this: All you cereal mascots better get your crap together real soon, or I’m going to be mildly upset. Tony the Tiger, this message does not apply to you, because you are clearly a moral, law-abiding tiger (nor does it apply to Count Chocula because he’s a funny guy). Toucan Sam, you are on my watch-list.
Sincerely,
Steve
Steve
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