Kellogg’s Ford Fusion Frosted Flakes?

Like seemingly every other business these days, Ford Motor Company’s marketers have been trying to use unorthodox advertising efforts to capture the attention of consumers when they aren’t involved with traditional media like television, print, and radio. To that end, the Blue Oval has announced that it is set to roll out on to breakfast tables nationwide.

The automaker has worked out a deal with with retailer Target to slip a Ford Fusion Hot Wheels car into 600,000 Kellogg Co. cereal boxes. Naturally, one lucky spoon-holder will find a red Fusion emblazoned with a Target logo in their box, and that person will win a 1:1 scale Fusion.

Tellingly, Ford isn’t placing the spiffs in products that skew toward mature consumers (e.g. Crispix and Smart Start); it’s going for products like Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, and so on. Consider this to be partly because the company is giving away toy cars, and partially because the company is vying for the affections of young gearheads-to-be who influence the buying decisions of those around them.

Finding a diecast car in a cereal box is something of a time-honored breakfast tradition, but this is the first we’ve heard of a car manufacturer doing this explicitly for marketing ends.

+ The Associated Press: Ford to Put 600K Toy Cars in Cereal Boxes