Advertising is a message designed to make people aware of - and to encourage them to buy - products or services. Many kinds of advertising media enable advertisers to reach people almost everywhere. While relaxing at home, shopping at a supermarket, travelling to and from work, or enjoying leisure activities, people come into contact with a large number of advertisements.

Kellogg's® advertising provides consumers with information on products, introduces new products and communicates improvements in existing products.

Kellogg purchases time and space in various media - television, newspaper, internet, radio and magazines - to promote its products, brands and services to large audiences.

Company founder W.K. Kellogg® was a pioneer in the art of advertising. In his first year of business, he spent much of his new company’s working capital to buy a full page ad in the July 1906 issue of the Ladies Home Journal. The results were astonishing. Sales flourished from 33 cases to 2,900 cases per day. With more widespread ads and promotions to tell the public about The Original and Best, Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes cereal, the small company’s annual sales exceeded a million cases by 1909. In 1912 a Kellogg ad appeared in New York City’s Times Square on what was then the largest advertising sign in the world. About the same time, an animated electric sign was installed on top of a building in Chicago, which showed a child’s expression changing when the caption read “I want Kellogg’s®” to “I got Kellogg’s®”.

Advertising plays a major role in Kellogg’s® ability to market its products economically. Widespread consumer awareness created by advertising helps maintain high sales volumes, constant rates of product demand and rapid product turnover in the supermarket.

A constant rate of demand helps lower operating costs by eliminating peaks and valleys in production, while high sales volumes help reduce the cost of distributing products to outlets across the country. Advertising helps maintain these constant rates of production and distribution by keeping the products in the minds of consumers.

When products have a rapid turnover in supermarkets, everyone wins. Consumers have the freshest products and the store owners can set lower retail prices and still make a fair profit. Retailers are apt to carry more complete lines and reorder out-of-stock items when they sell quickly.

Developing and marketing new products requires large financial investments. When advertising is used to inform large numbers of consumers of the new product’s availability, sales can be established and investments recovered more quickly.

Kellogg in Australia and New Zealand advertises nationally using different media in varying mixes. While television is the primary medium used, print, the Internet and in-store displays also help meet marketing objectives.

Kellogg products usually appear in 15 and 30 second ads, often known as ‘spots’, that are placed in commercial breaks during television programs. Spot advertisers pay only for the airtime used for their commercials. It is important to note that the placement of a Kellogg commercial does not necessarily express agreement or approval of every aspect of program content. Spot placements are chosen to reach a specific viewing audience.

The cereal package is also used for communicating important consumer information. Messages about good nutrition have been included on the cereal packages for more than 30 years. Kellogg has been a leader in the food industry in providing nutrition information on packs.

Kellogg believes all of its advertising must be socially responsible. Kellogg is committed to providing quality spot advertising that is truthful and not misleading to consumers. In keeping with this commitment, Kellogg believes that it has a responsibility to produce advertising and to place those ads in programs that communicate the standards of good taste and fair practice that guide all of our corporate actions.

The specific content standards that govern Kellogg advertising include the following:

Provide consumers with accurate information about our products in a wholesome manner;

• Ensure that the advertising is in compliance with all applicable country, Federal, State and local laws and regulations and self regulation codes;
• Avoid advertising themes that include excessive and/or unwarranted acts of violence; or the acting out of anti-social behaviour which easily encourages imitation;
• and avoid advertising themes that belittle any group based on its social, racial, ethnic or religious traits, or any person because of his or her age, sex or disability.

The specific programming standards that govern Kellogg advertising placement include the following:

• Review and approval of programming schedules before implementation;
• Avoid advertising in program episodes that include excessive and/or unwarranted acts of violence, displays of brutality and suffering or the acting out of anti-social behaviour, which easily encourages imitation.

Kellogg places great emphasis on creating honest and tasteful advertising to children with messages that convey the inherent nutritional value of our products. We present these messages in a way that is informative, interesting and also appropriate for a child’s level of understanding.

It is Kellogg’s® policy to comply strictly with children’s advertising guidelines.

Kellogg has always believed in the value of advertising to communicate important product information. We are proud of the quality tradition we have established in our advertising and are firmly committed to continuing this tradition to better serve consumers.