Retro Characters The Cheerios Kid and Sue are Back!

Their mission: teach how Cheerios^® cereal helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Just in time for National Cholesterol Education Month, Cheerios is bringing back the Cheerios Kid and Sue to help Baby Boomers understand how soluble fiber from whole grain oat foods, like Cheerios^® cereal, helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet.¹

“We had so much fun bringing these retro illustrations back to life”

Many Boomers remember these classic characters from the 1950s and ‘60s who encouraged kids to connect the "Big G and the Little O" to get the "GO" power of Cheerios! In the vintage commercials, Sue always got into some kind of trouble and the Cheerios Kid came to her rescue after eating a bowl of Os.

Now, Boomers are grown up, but their childhood friends are coming back to help them in a new way with a mission to share how Cheerios^® cereal helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet.

“Our research showed that many people didn’t know how the soluble fiber in oats works in our bodies to help lower cholesterol,” said Meredith Tutterow, marketing associate director, Cheerios. “We wanted to reach Boomers with this important information and knew the Cheerios Kid and Sue already had a connection with many people from their childhood. They’re the perfect teachers and Cheerios enthusiasts to take on this gross - as Sue calls it in one of the videos - yet educational challenge.”

The whole grain oats in Cheerios^® cereal contain soluble fiber known as Beta Glucan. Once Cheerios is digested, beta glucan mixes with water in the stomach to form a gel that moves through the intestines and can help naturally remove cholesterol from the body. This is just one of the ways soluble fiber is thought to work to lower cholesterol in the body.

Boomers have gained ground in the digital age, and the Cheerios Kid and Sue are meeting their Boomer friends online for this lesson - in places such as You Tube, Facebook and WebMD.

“This campaign is an example of reinventing beloved, classic characters to market a classic brand in a new way,” Tutterow added. “We needed a creative team that could provide specific animation expertise, so we partnered with PatMan Studios to help us with this and they provided real value in the process.”

“We had so much fun bringing these retro illustrations back to life,” said Pat Giles, co-founder and partner at Pat-Man Studios, the creative shop that worked with the Cheerios team to bring the Cheerios Kid and Sue back to life in the digital age. “The Cheerios Kid and Sue provide an ‘edu-taining’ look at a topic many of us don’t understand and we had a blast giving these classic characters the life and voice to do it” said Manny Galan, co-founder and partner.

Cheerios is excited to bring the Cheerios Kid and Sue back as part of the brand’s broader efforts to teach Boomers about the topic of lowering cholesterol. The Kid and Sue will be a fun addition to the brand’s work with main campaign partner, Saatchi & Saatchi.

To see the video and for more information on Cheerios^® cereal, check out Cheerios on YouTube and Facebook.

About Cheerios
Cheerios, America’s No. 1 cereal, debuted in 1941 as Cheerioats. The nation’s first ready-to-eat oat cereal has since become one of the most trusted and recognized brands in America. In fact, one of every 10 boxes of cereal sold in America is a box of Cheerios. General Mills’ popular franchise includes Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, MultiGrain Cheerios, Multi Grain Cheerios Peanut Butter, Chocolate Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, Dulce de Leche Cheerios, Yogurt Burst Cheerios, Cinnamon Burst Cheerios and Banana Nut Cheerios. Cheerios also has a publishing division that includes the popular Cheerios Play Books and other activity books. For more information, go to www.cheerios.com.

About General Mills
General Mills is one of the world’s leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries. Its brands include Cheerios, Fiber One, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, and Wanchai Ferry. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had fiscal 2012 worldwide sales of US $16.7 billion.

¹ Studies show that three grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oat foods, like Cheerios cereal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. Cheerios cereal provides 1 gram per serving.