General Mills Canada has launched a new marketing campaign with Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista by placing him "on its Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Golden Grahams cereal boxes for a limited run," according to Susan Krashinsky of the GLOBE & MAIL. The company "has not had a marketing relationship with the Jays for 15 years and has not had a pro baseball player on one of its boxes since Roger Clemens." The company has a deal with the Canadian Olympic Committee in which Olympians will appear on boxes leading up to the Rio Games, but General Mills otherwise "does not use celebrities in its advertising." This new partnership came together last fall, when a General Mills employee noticed Bautista had "posted on Instagram a picture of himself hugging a box of Golden Grahams to his chest." He also "tweeted about enjoying both that cereal and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so General Mills sent him a case of each." The company then "reached out to his business manager and started discussions about a marketing deal." Bautista's famous "bat flip" from last year's MLB playoffs is an image "on one of the boxes." This marks the "first time a sponsorship has come together" because of Bautista's "social-media presence." To promote the boxes, General Mills beginning last night "paid for an in-stadium 'takeover' of all the digital boards in Rogers Centre for half an inning each" for five games. A "smaller signage deal" will be in place for 10 more games (GLOBE & MAIL, 5/3).
