Marketers are turning to old tricks

You may have heard the urban legend that Little Mikey, the adorable boy featured in Life cereal ads in the 1970s and ‘80s, died after consuming Pop Rocks and soda. That’s not true. The actor, John Gilchrist, is in New York.

But his character — a picky eater who ends up enjoying Life cereal — has been revived myriad times, including in the ‘80s , and in ads where Mikey is a young girl. Most recently, Life’s new ads are minimusicals starring Hudson Uebelhardt as Mikey. Seems like it, doesn’t it? The Mikey campaign is considered one of the all-time greats, so it’s no wonder why Life owner Quaker keeps coming back for more.



And , several brands are reverting to what worked before, but repackaging it for consumers using streaming services and cellphones. Maybelline brought its 1991 “Maybe It’s Maybelline” to TikTok influencers. That slogan has 84% brand recall, unlike “Make It Happen,” the meh slogan Maybelline introduced in 2015.

Kellogg’s released of its cereals’ iconic mascots — Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, etc. — last year. McDonald’s its Halloween Boo Buckets in 2022 and highlighted one of its OG mascots, Grimace, with a new shake last year, .

After an unsuccessful attempt to promote healthier grilled chicken, KFC its brand by bringing back mascot Colonel Sanders in 2015, featuring the character in marketing, cross-promos, and even licensing his look as a Halloween costume. Quaker, owned by PepsiCo, has seen sales drop in North America amid contamination issues, but maybe Mikey will renew interest in the cereal many of us probably enjoyed as kids — or at least interest in whether you’ll die if you combine Pop Rocks and soda. (BTW, .

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