Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts in the Metaverse: Get us out of here

And so to the Metaverse…yep, we’ve finally got round to reviewing the phenomenon which has brands in a tizz and consumers clueless. Talk to most marketers and they are wetting themselves at the prospect, talk to most shoppers and they couldn’t give a stuff. Was it ever thus?

Still, bless ’em, Kellogg’s is so excited about it that the brand owner – or maybe, just maybe, its agency, has decided that now is the right time to go VR-tastic for the first Pop-Tarts campaign in the UK for two decades.

You see, Pop-Tarts’ characters are now popping up in the popular NFT-based game Blankos Block Party. If that makes sense to you, read on, if not, you’ll soon be on the dole sadly.

Apparently, Blankos Block Party is an open-world multiplayer game with millions of players worldwide. It is styled like a giant party, with a focus on custom art and design, building, exploration and curating your collection of unique and rare ‘Blanko’ characters. Are you still with us?

To support the activity, Kellogg’s has partnered with Mythical Games to create a set of NFTs within the game, including Popified Blanko characters called Hip Pop, Punk Pop and Glam Pop that are both collectable and tradeable, it is claimed.

And here’s the rub: “By entering this virtual world with NFT characters, Pop-Tarts is aiming to drive engagement with Gen Z consumers aged 18 to 24 who are less familiar with the brand. Gaming is a key passion point for Gen Z and Blankos Block Party encourages individuality, self-expression and fun – qualities that are at the heart of Pop-Tarts’ new creative platform, ‘Get Popified’.” No, us neither…

The activation, which was overseen by Dentsu UK&I, with both Dentsu Creative and Kellogg’s UK media agency, Carat, working together, is the first Metaverse campaign by a Kellogg’s brand in Europe and unlikely to be the last.

Over to Kellogg’s Pop Tarts brand lead Emer Hayes: “We’re very excited to taking Pop-Tarts into the Metaverse, a first for Kellogg’s in the UK. Pop-Tarts is a fun brand, and by creating NFT characters for a playful virtual world we can better engage with people, particularly Gen Z consumers.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dentsu Creative head of innovation Alex Hamilton is equally cock-a-hoop: “This is a match made in Metaverse heaven. We’re proud to work in partnership with Mythical Games’ signature title, Blankos Block Party, to take Pop-Tarts into this virtual world. Both are vibrant brands that fit well together on a number of levels.”

So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?

Well, quite obviously we are way out of the target market; then again from what we’ve seen so are Gen Z consumers. This activity seems more like something a five-year old would enjoy, with its infantile characters and annoying jingling music. If this is the shape of things to come for the marketing world, we’re all doomed.

Still, if you are the sort of person who munches on enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin B1 [thiamin mononitrate], vitamin B2 [riboflavin], folic acid), corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, soybean and palm oil (with TBHQ), sugar, and bleached wheat flour for breakfast, you’ll no doubt love it…

Decision Marketing Adometer: A “meta get us out of here” 5 out of 10