August 4th, 2023

The Only Girl Mascots in the Cereal Aisle: Off Limits vs General Mills

Copycat or coincidence?

Bigger brands taking inspiration from smaller upstarts is nothing new, and our Thingtesting community recently pointed out an interesting case. OffLimits, a cereal brand founded in 2020, featured Zombie as their mascot, acclaimed as the "first girl in the cereal aisle." Now, three years later, cereal giant General Mills has unveiled their own character, Carmella Creeper, who also happens to be a female zombie mascot.

Although the characters may not be identical, General Mills' PR campaign emphasizes the significance of having the first female cereal mascot, reminiscent of the buzz surrounding OffLimits' launch in 2020.

Interestingly, back in 1902, Sunny Jim took the spotlight as the very first character to promote a cereal brand, gracing the cover of Force Wheat Flakes, the inaugural successful wheat flake cereal.

The lingering question remains: why did it take over a century for a female mascot to make her debut in the cereal aisle?

@thingtesting Why were there no female cereal mascots before this, anyway? 🤨 Bigger brands taking “inspiration” from smaller companies is nothing new, but our Thingtesting community brought this one to our attention. @OffLimits is a cereal brand that was founded in 2020. One of their mascots, Zombie, was quoted as the “first girl in the cereal aisle”. Now, three years later, cereal giant General Mills has announced their release of Carmella Creeper, who is coincidentally a female zombie mascot as well. What’re your thoughts? Want to get in on the conversation? Join our community and reach level 7 to join our not-so-secret Thingtester slack channel 👀 #thingtesting #offlimitscereal #generalmillscereal #marketing #offlimits #cerealaisle ♬ original sound - Thingtesting

Want to get in on conversations like this? Join the Thingtesting community and reach level 7 to join our Thingtester Slack channel! đź‘€