Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the Cereal Isle at Target

Look at these rows of cereal boxes. More specifically, look at the pictures of the cereal that is inside of the cereal boxes on these cereal boxes that are positioned in rows of cereal boxes in an aisle in Target designated for cereal boxes. In one picture, we have delicious, anthropomorphized squares of goodness riding on waves of cinnamon and pure, unbridled joy. I feel a smile and type 2 diabetes coming on already. In the other we have faceless, depressed flats of stale cardboard drowning in a bowl of lukewarm milk, all under the menacing eye of an evil baker/Keebler elf after 30 years of hard drinking. Can you guess which is which?

For your own sake, I hope you identified the top box as the devil incarnate, and the bottom as the tasty snack. Why, you ask, do I have such strong feelings about cereal boxes? It's because I've never seen the deceptive power of advertising so shamelessly displayed in my life. 

In the bottom row, we see Cinnamon Toast Crunch's traditional packaging. The writing is more playful, and the darkness of the squares plus the cinnamon swirls meandering through the lettering emphasize the cereal's sweetness. If it were a person, this box would be a hip-hop dancer/pro surfer named Dragon. This box is totally aimed at children. We can also assume this because the sugary boxes are beneath the other boxes, at kid-height. How clever.

Then, we have the top boxes. If these packages were people, they'd be middle-aged accountants named Harold. I mean, the design says it all. The box is as mundane as paper casserole, and it definitely can't dance. The lettering is straighter, to imply that this is a serious cereal. The presence of the baker suggests wholesomeness - that somehow, the pieces of cereal were handmade by a caring professional. No mechanized production here. The color of the squares also portrays health. They're lighter in color, and look more like grain-products than cinnamon cubes. Oh, and then there's the writing. Right underneath the brand name: "Crispy, whole wheat & rice cereal." Give me a break. Needless to say, the upper row of boxes are aimed at parents. 

It's quite interesting that Target chose to place both versions of packaging right next to each other. Branding is reliant on believability: To sell me a product, I have to believe that what I'm being shown is really the essence of the product. If I'm attracted to Cinnamon Toast Crunch because I believe it's healthy, why would I still buy it if I saw the lower, sugar-emphasizing boxes? If it's made obvious that the two personalities of CT Crunch are marketing fabrications and not actual qualities inherent to the cereal, wouldn't I lose trust in the product? I know that the cereal can't be both healthy and uber-sweet at once. Come on Target. At least separate the boxes of cereal bearing contradictory representations of the character of the cereal inside the boxes of cereal by one row.