A new study examined all breakfast cereals purchased by 77,000 U.S. households over a nine-year period and tracked them against Nielsen ratings data for all ads seen in the same households during the same time period.
It found that advertising to adults yielded no positive returns in terms of ad dollars, but advertising to kids was strongly correlated to how much sugary cereal a household with children bought.
Fruity Pebbles commercials during the latest late-night crime drama?
Useless.
Those same commercials during the latest episode of Paw Patrol or SpongeBob SquarePants?
Bingo.
The problem?
Kids are apparently making the majority of purchasing decisions when it comes to cereal, and their choices often suck.
Just nine advertised cereals — all of which had between 9 and 12 grams of sugar per serving — account for 41 percent of total household cereal consumption.
So parents are buying a lot of sugar pretending to be a breakfast food because the kids see commercials for that cereal on TV and demand it.
The lesson here:
- Don’t let your children tell you what cereal to purchase.
- Don’t purchase sugar masquerading as cereal.
- If you’re going to purchase a sugary cereal, make it a treat. Not a staple.
- Don’t be afraid to say no to your children.
That last lesson is more than a cereal lesson. It’s a life lesson. Perhaps one of the most important things you can ever do for your child.
But as a teacher, when it comes to cereal, I’m begging you:
Send your child to school with a healthy breakfast in their belly.
Not a belly full of colored sugar.
