New York, Sept 30: Kellogg Co. knows many people don't have time for breakfast at home, so the cereal maker is trying to serve it up during their morning dash to work -- literally. As part of a new advertising campaign for Kellogg's Nutri-Grain granola bars, actors dressed as commuters but with marathon race numbers pinned to their suits will mingle with real commuters to hand out free samples of the food bars.
The "mock marathon", which will take place in eight US cities, will also feature cheering onlookers behind barricades, rooting for the commuters and their Kellogg counterparts.
Advertising industry watchers say the idea is part of a growing effort by companies to add a real-life experience to traditional ad campaigns.
The trend for investing in funny, wacky or downright extravagant events is proliferating because of a crowded marketplace and fewer people seeing ads via traditional means such as television, they say.
For Kellogg's Nutri-Grain, advertising agency Leo Burnett USA created a campaign centered on the "Morning Marathon" of workers heading to work by train, car and on foot.
Television spots featuring the "marathon" were due to air on Monday.
"It segued really smoothly into doing some events around the idea," said Jonathan Hoffman, an executive creative director at Leo Burnett USA. "Being able to touch and feel and experience an idea is going to be a more and more important part of cementing that brand's idea (with) consumers."
Relay Sports and Event Marketing, a division of Starcom MediaVest Group which, with Leo Burnett, is owned by Publicis, knitted the "mock marathons" to the commercial.
"They're not going to be interfering with the consumers on their way to work," said Kevin Adler, vice president of sponsorships and events at Relay. "(Event) marketing works best when it is interwoven into the fabric of what consumers do every day." Bureau Report