Kellogg’s All-Bran

Kellogg’s All-Bran J. Parker
Welcome to the world of (not so) subliminal messaging in advertising techniques. Today we’ll be focusing on ‘bran positioning’ in the media, and yes, the pun is intentional (if in poor taste), and not simply poor spelling skills. While most of marketing gurus today tend to use stimuli that impress upon our subconscious, Kellogg’s All-Bran has gone in the opposite direction with this television spot from 2007; in what I am hoping is an attempt to inject humor into this rather ‘uncomfortable’ topic!

http://www.mrbreakfast.com/cereal_theater.asp?videoid=2&id=6

Ah….constipation and irregularity! I’m unsure how this relates directly to the solid American worker (namely Joe Construction Worker) featured in this commercial, but then, I’m usually unsure why most advertisers do, well, what they do. I would encourage all viewers to begin taking a proactive look at what’s being ‘fed’ to us via the media.

The format of this ad is fairly basic…..it looks a bit ‘old school’ like a commercial layout from the 1990’s. The background is in muted brown tones (hmmmm), while the main character is wearing bright orange and a hardhat to get your attention.

In this spot, the character is running the monologue, but the background is the main focus. While he is telling us all how “sluggish” he felt, and he knew “something had to give”, steel I beam comes shooting out a hole behind him, complete with grunting noises from the other workers who are pulling it through the hole. Just wait…..we’re only warming up!

The target audience would appear to be male and middle aged. Also targeted, may be their wives. There they are, sitting at home in the evening, watching a little TV, and thinking “Wow! John is really irregular too….I bet All-Bran could ‘invigorate’ him! Let’s buy it!”

Emotionally this advert seems to be a fairly lighthearted one, about a serious topic. The humor is not brought right out into the foreground, so it is a secondary and subliminal ploy. Who knew that being irregular would ‘affect your work’ like that?

The composition itself involves what seems to be a very unsafe worksite….sparks flying, beams dropping, and ‘irregular’ workers, Oh My! He then speaks of being ‘invigorated’ by All-Bran while large steel barrels give the impression that they are falling out of his….ummm, behind.
The layout tends to have many things happening ‘behind’ poor Joe. The ending scene involves a large DUMP truck dropping its big, bulky load directly under Joe’s (tired and sore?) rump. Still feeling invigorated Joe?

The “10 days to a better you” of the All-Bran challenge are never actually discussed. What exactly is it? How does it ‘give you more energy’? How’s it work? Yet, they are still urging us to buy, eat and feel great!

I’m unsure if the most effective way to end an ad about a food that will effectively deal with your constipation issues, should be with “do it, feel it”, that’s not a visual that I want to be left with.
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