MADISON MEEKS
Editor-in-Chief
mvm7037@psu.edu

Last week, the year-old Kellogg campaign that promotes “cereal for dinner” gained some traction after the CEO of the company, Gary Pilnick, made a comment in a live interview with CNBC. 

Pilnick stated that the campaign has been successful so far and has been “landing really well” with consumers in America. This remark caught the attention of shoppers, whose response was not that great. “‘Advertising cereal for dinner’ is a way to deal with the steep cost of groceries right now. If you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they’d otherwise do, that’s going to be much more affordable,” Pilnick explained in his CNBC interview. According to USA Today, “the interview followed news from the Wall Street Journal that showed Americans spending 10% or more of their income on food, the most they have in 30 years.” The average American spends more than $1,000 on groceries each month, as highlighted by reports from USA Today.

The CEO stated that cereal has always been affordable for the average family. The company owns popular brands of cereals like Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, and Raisin Brand. He claims that it is a good choice to make when struggling for income and adds that it “is less than a dollar” for cereal with fruit and milk. According to USA Today, “Pilnick was asked if he thought his comments would sit well with Americans. “It’s landing really well,” Pilnick said, showing that 25% of cereal consumption is outside of the ‘breakfast window’ anyway.” He also stated that having cereal for dinner is more popular now. 

USA Today discloses that the campaign that started over a year ago ends with the slogan “give chicken the night off.” This started as Americans were suffering from financial problems and the inflation of prices in grocery stores. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food prices increased faster than any year since 1979 in 2022. The comments that Pilnick made in the interview did not sit well with consumers.

Consumers took to the internet to express their unease at the remarks. One person took to TikTok to express how they felt; they stated, “This fool is making $4 million a year. Do you think he’s feeding his kids cereal for dinner?” According to Business Insider and USA Today, the CEO makes a base income of $1 million and a little over $4 million in compensation. Another TikToker named James Li said, “And how do you think consumers became under pressure? It’s companies like Kellogg that have used the excuse of inflation in order to price gauge consumers.” People took to the comments of TikTok to express their agreement with the TikTokers’ concerns. Someone said, “The family-sized box is 10. With milk, 3. I could get a frozen family lasagna for that!” Another commented, “Cereal is like 5-8 per box now; he thinks we’re still buying it for breakfast, let alone dinner??!?” While a lot of people disagreed with the remarks by the CEO, others agreed with him. One said, “Well, actually, he is right, and having some Special K for dinner is healthier than McDonald’s for dinner.”

Users are still discussing online whether or not the CEO is correct with his remarks. He has not commented on any major news outlets to defend his claims.