Cereal Jam
Public Art (2003)
Cereal Jam is an answer to a call on RtMark.com to design stickers for cereal boxes that revealed who owned the companies that produced the cereal, Phillip Morris Inc. At the time, Phillip Morris was restructuring their corporate holdings so that food companies such as Kraft Foods and Post Cereals would no longer be associated with the brand Phillip Morris, who in the last decade had faced several investigations in Congress to see if they had lied to the public about the possible effects of smoking cigarettes. Phillip Morris placed all of their holdings in an umbrella corporation named Altria Group in order to disassociate their cigarette product lines with the food products the company had purchased prior to the Congressional hearings in order to buffer against a profit loss from a Nation who was now fully aware that smoking causes cancer.
In order to increase public awareness about the restructuring of Phillip Morris, these stickers emphasize the connection between the company and Post Cereal products. In this mock promotional material designed to fit on the back of cereal boxes, children are told that a pack of cigarettes is included in one out of every ten boxes. The Alpha Bits characters and the Gold Crisp Bear are slightly altered from their original appearance and now puff on cigarettes instead of corn. The form of Sugar Bear is quite natural as he holds a cigarette. Cigarette companies were barred from advertising to children for several years, but what is the difference when many cereals contain grains sprayed with pesticides and chemical fertilizers? Could these substances be hazardous to a child's health as well? The smoking cartoon characters create a subliminal connection between the hazards of smoking and the food product itself, illiciting the question "Do I trust a cigarette company with handing the food I choose to give to my children?"
The parents become the target in this culture jam. When the children read the back of the box, perhaps a conversation about the product ensues. A press release was crafted for news outlets regarding the placement of the boxes on store shelves. Letters to the editor from angry parents were also created to be distributed to newspapers. One reads as follows,
I feel as if my home has been violated. After purchasing a box of Alpha Bits cereal from the local Price Chopper by my home I discovered an advertisement that disturbed me on the back of the box. The bottom corner of the box showed four Alpha Bits characters smoking cigarettes. There is also a message on the box reading "Hey Kids! There's a free pack of cigarettes courtesy of Altria Group, Inc. in every one out of ten boxes of Alpha Bits Cereal!"
I am a concerned mother of three and am outraged by this blatant advertisement used to sell cigarettes to my children, ages 3, 7, and 10. My middle child who is now in the first grade and learning to read was the one who discovered this mockery of a children's cereal. I am frightened that other kids out there are reading this material and will be effected by what they have seen on the back of this Alpha Bits cereal box. Please do something about this blatant attempt to sell cigarettes through a children's cereal. I am completely disturbed by what I have seen and I think that other mothers out there should know what they may potentially be buying for their children.
A concerned parent
Synthia Siegal
This culture jamming sticker campaign was offered to anyone who would like to print the stickers themselves and implement the campaign themselves. After printing the stickers, the person can then enter a shopping market and place them discreetly on the backs of the cereal boxes. The stickers are designed to fit seamlessly with the product packaging so that the customer will not read the material until the box reaches the breakfast table.
