Texan Mosaic

Story by Matthew Brown/COMM 2311-601

For some people, a great tasting breakfast to start the day can feel like scoring early in a big game.

Very soon it looks like Super Bowl champion brothers Travis and Jason Kelce will be experts in both.

Their cross-team rivalry is famous around the National Football League as their respective teams, the Kansas City Chief and the Philadelphia Eagles, have clashed on big stages before. 

But in August,  General Mills announced the Kelce brothers would be uniting to release a new cereal combination called “The Kelce Mix”. 

“Earlier this summer,” the company website wrote, “the Kelces took new positions off the field as cereal co-creators of the historic new General Mills cereal:  the Kelce Mix, which combines their top three favorite cereals – Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, and REESE’S PUFFS cereal in one box”.

General Mills predicted the Kelce Mix cereal would be available at retailers nationwide in mid- September. 

While this combination of flavors may be unique, the Kelce Mix certainly isn’t the first time sports fans have seen big food conglomerates merge with superstar pro athletes to cash in on popularity.

“Well, I definitely think they’re using the star power to sell it,” says Dane Dewbre.  He is a lifelong sports fan and executive director of marketing and communications at South Plains College.  “I mean the Kelce brothers are well liked.  And it’s been done that way forever. When I was a kid lots of sports stars were endorsing or even had their own candy bars and those types of things.”

Dewbre recalls a Reggie Jackson candy bar that was popular during his childhood, further exemplifying that athletes and food sponsorships are as tried and true of a connection as Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce.

Dewbre says General Mills cereal sales will probably go up because all three cereals in the Kelce Mix, along with their fourth favorite, Honey Nut Cheerios, will also be packaged and sold separately in collectible boxes called Kelces’ Pick.  That way General Mills can expect to intercept anyone who’s curious about how two mix up the brands on their own.

We surveyed 30 South Plains College students anonymously in an effort to scout how the Kelce Mix and Kelce Picks would do once they hit the shelves.

We asked students at the Lubbock Downtown Center several questions including:

• What is your favorite flavor of cereal?
• What three flavors would you like combined most?

Our results show Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch were two overwhelming favorites.

According to one television news site in Kansas City, Kelce Mix hit the shelves there Sept. 20.

Even if the Kelce Mix cereal has not yet hit the shelves in our area, the Kelces’ Pick boxes have.  And the mix is available online.  Amazon.com is offering a 19.7 oz.  Family Size box for 5.49.

Reviews on the internet so far appear to be pretty good.  For instance, Anthony Farris wrote a review about the cereal on sports and political commentary website Outkick.com on Oct. 5.  Farris said, “Initial reaction:  this is better than expected.”

On TheDailyMeal.com, Michael Palan offered a “chew and review” of the Kelce Mix with the headline “General Mills’ Kelce Mix Cereal Scores a Touchdown at the Breakfast Table.”

From a marketing standpoint, even champions like the Kelce brothers could fall victim to a bad play. Off-the-field scenarios such as how the brothers market themselves outside of the Kelce Mix campaign and other debacles could prove to be a challenge.

“It’s going to cost General Mills some money but it’s a good PR thing too,” Dewbre says, “because people like them. Now it’ll be interesting if Travis and Taylor break up.” 

In other words, if Kelce and Swift decide to blow their relationship dead, then General Mills could be missing a large market.

Another way that Kelce Mix could fail to score big is with the intense rivalries between cities and sports teams. The bridge between sports rivals can be vast and often uncrossable.

“I hate Philadelphia, being a Cowboys fan,” Dewbre says, “but I think I like Jason better than Travis. But I like the Chiefs better than the Eagles. And of course, the Chiefs have Patrick and I’m a Texas Tech Red Raider. It is what it is. And they’re playing it right as kind of a fun thing and so we’ll see.”

Despite rivalries, General Mills might still be able to bank on the marketability of a union with the loveable Kelce brothers being stronger than the divide of NFL fans.

And just as the Kelce brothers can galvanize for the Kelce Mix, so can the three distinctive flavors of Reese’s Puffs, Lucky Charms, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch in bowls across America this football season.