It’s 1916 and, hired by the breakfast company Kellogg’s, artist and illustrator J.C. Leyendecker—whose depictions of Americana pre-date Norman Rockwell—produces a print advertisement that would appear in American magazines as part of a series called “Kellogg’s Kids.”
The ad itself features a young boy wearing a stiff collar and tie, saluting with one hand, a spoon gripped in the other, beaming up from his bowl of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. The copy is a mouthful. And in the bottom right corner – right where a reader looks to turn the page – is an illustration of a box of Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes.
Fast-forward 100 years to 2016. An emotional ad airs for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, with themes that directly reference those of J.C. Leyendecker’s images. Children are in a field, choosing their paths in life from folded cards on orderly school desks. But their hunger impedes their ability to learn – until they find Kellogg’s Corn Flakes waiting for them inside their desks. The screen reads “Buy a box and help a child” followed by the tagline, “see you at breakfast.”
The ad is practically cinematic. Cool tones and shifting focuses create a sense of the immense world where this ad lives. But why the desks are outside, other than for this dramatic effect, I’m not so sure.
So what’s changed in Kellogg’s advertising over the course of a century? The simple answer: almost everything. Let’s take a closer look:
Illustration vs. Video
The broadest difference, of course, is a tremendous gap in the two media platforms. Leyendecker’s illustrations are, by nature, two-dimensional and static, while the video spot relies heavily on cinematic effect. The illustration’s simplicity all but disappears, giving way to more elaborate storytelling. This makes sense – when the ad is airing during shows like CSI: Miami, drama is what the audience expects, and presumably, what they want in their ads as well.
Paragraph vs. Tagline
The next glaring difference is the length of the copy. In 1916 it seemed necessary, apparently, to fill half the page with text about how great Kellogg’s Corn Flakes taste, how original they are and to explain why they chose the image they did. In 2016, however, the idea seems to be that less is more. Kellogg’s declares their mission to give breakfast to children and, with “see you at breakfast,” reinforces that a relationship exists between Kellogg’s and the viewer.
Taste vs. Emotion
Along with the difference in the length of the copy, the type of appeal that it makes has changed dramatically. The 1916 ad focuses on reasons why Kellogg’s is the superior tasting cereal. It’s appetizing, crisp, dainty, etc. In other words, it appeals to rational decision-makers who want to maximize their taste experience.
The 2016 ad relies, instead, on appealing to the emotional response of the viewer. The ad says very little, if anything, about taste. Instead the focus is on the good that Kellogg’s is doing in the world. The hungry children they feed, the closeness the brand has to your home and breakfast table. The ad directs traffic toward Kellogg’s “Give a Child Breakfast” campaign, a campaign that shows images of wide-eyed children in need of food – a huge departure from the beaming trooper in 1916. The campaign encourages people to donate to the cause, start a program and use their dollar to make a difference and take action.
Some Things Never Change
So with all of these changes, has anything remained the same? Well, yes. After 100 years Kellogg’s still puts kids as the face of their advertising. That the catchy “Kellogg’s Kids” became “Give a Child Breakfast” certainly demonstrates a change in the type of appeal, but the fact remains that at its core, the idea of a child lighting up when they discover a bowl of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes has always been the cornerstone of their advertising.
So the question becomes – in the next 100 years, with emerging technologies and changing sensibilities and core values, how will advertising change? With a fondness for nostalgia being incorporated into advertisements like Seamless’s metro-based print ads in New York and SEPTA’s “Dude It’s Rude” campaign in Philadelphia, it may even be possible that illustrations will return to advertising just to pull attention in a culture of cinematic overload. Regardless, it seems safe to say that in 100 years, children will still be the face of Kellogg’s cereal.
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