Is breakfast the most important meal of the day?

How Kellogg's breakfast slogan changed history and why it matters.

“Believe it or not, breakfast being the most important meal of the day was an advertising slogan that Kellogg’s came up with to promote their new cereal, Corn Flakes, back in the 1970s.” — Mindy Pelz, The Menopause Reset: Get Rid of Your Symptoms and Feel Like Your Younger Self Again.

Image courtesy of @therachelstory on Unsplash.

I have two takeaways to highlight: one, marketing is so much more than mere sales strategy; and two, that was a genius campaign, as it not only stood the test of time, but this slogan has managed to integrate itself into global generational conventional wisdom.

That’s a marketer’s holy grail. Yet, unfortunately, at the cost of the consumer's well-being, here’s the hard truth: not everything you’re sold and told, especially by advertisers and companies—who stand to gain a lot of profits from you— is always true. Remember, their main objective is to sell. Thank God things are starting to change these days. Slow but steady, so you really need to keep your guard up!

You want to wholeheartedly believe that there are rules to the game, perhaps even common sense or general morale. Especially guidelines on what you can say, what you can manipulate, and how far you can stray or stretch the truth.

But I’ve been on the other side of it. However brief, my days in advertising taught me a lot, enough to tell you that you’ll be surprised by how loose the regulations are globally.

It’s no one’s fault.

Marketers are just doing their job. Corporations are also doing what they’ve been created to do.

Marketers have been hired to sell a product or service to the best of their abilities. Corporations, especially food companies, have been tasked with feeding the ever-increasing populations. Business wisdom teaches to maximise profits. Unfortunately, these values and ideals have also cost more to the consumer than most either care to admit or realise.

While it’s easy to blame others and say that these industries are responsible, the truth is that it’s a systemic problem that’s much more complex than convincing one person or one company to change one slogan.

Three Things to Think About: