Kellogg's has decided to drop it's sponsorship of Michael Phelps. Kellogg's spokeswoman said "Michael's most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg." Interesting.
My initial reaction was, "Are you serious? You guys make rice krispie treats!" My second reaction was to get online and research Kellogg's wholesome image. Surprisingly, Kellogg's is currently running a promotion with the popular video game Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero allows players, many of them children, to jam along with amazing artists such as Jimmy Hendrix, Rancid, the WHO, Cream, Stone Temple Pilots, Slash (ever seen a picture of that guy without a cigarette in his mouth?), and countless others who, in addition to producing fantastic auditory works of art, have all admittedly and unapologetically used drugs far more dangerous than cannabis.
Most parents are not going to care if Michael Phelps is on the front of their kid's cereal box any more than they care that their child is jamming out to a deceased heroin addict. Why? Because we pay those artists and atheletes because they have amazing talents, not for what they do in their leisure time.
Kellogg's surely knows there are artists on Guitar Hero games who are drug users. So why the hypocrisy? I'm not sure, but I think while you're calling Kellogg's at (800) 962-1413 to tell them you won't be buying any more of their products, you should also ask them to consider if they think they're sending mixed signals by continuing their association with Guitar Hero.
2 comments:
And Tom Morello is in GH3 - he's a communist ya know.
I think its important to emphasize the main point of Matt's post: We shouldn't be judging people based on the substances they put into their body - regardless of how much more dangerous one is compared to the other.
Should Kellogg's drop its involvement with Guitar Hero? Of course not. As Matt points out, there's nothing wrong with a digital marlboro smokin' Slash rockin' out on your TV screen while your child mindlessly locates his fingers to the appropriately color coded buttons on his/her overpriced plastic controller while scarfing down some Frosted Flakes.
The point is - what image is Kellogg's trying to protect by dropping Phelps? And how does dropping sponsorship of someone who has achieved so many great things because he did something that hurt absolutely no one else, help preserve that image?
Great article written by you.
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