Cereal Killers

It’s almost a punchline: a politician asking a room full of advertising execs to ‘trust’ him. But that’s precisely what the UK’s Labour’s deputy Tom Watson said.

Citing the inclusion of refined sugar in our foods and drinks as a major contributor to the UK public health crisis, Watson called on the ad industry to stop using cartoon characters on sugary food and drink packaging. In an Advertising Association speech, he sugar-shamed Frosties, Nesquik and Coco Pops, calling them (in a snappy strapline of his own): “billboards on table tops aimed at tiny tots.”

Throwing down the gauntlet, he stated that if the UK ad industry could harness its collective might to take sugar off the table, he’d be its biggest advocate. And if it didn’t, brand owners and advertisers would soon be staring down the barrel of increased regulations.

Ranging from the absurdist to the plausible, we watched eight designs come to life with the creation of our own brand Coco Nuts, complete with cheeky character Nibbles the Squirrel. Our master pack deliberately copies the direct, and often naïve design codes of the cereal category.

The designs aren’t meant as design solutions, but creative provocations that explore the strengths and weaknesses of what responsible design really is – whatever the category.

Articles:

https://www.creativebrief.com/bite/cereal-killers-responsible-design-death-brand

https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2019/02/05/cereal-killers-how-designers-can-adapt-tom-watsons-proposed-packaging-mascot-ban