Canadians with Olympic fever can bring a piece of the action into their homes with a multitude of Olympic-themed products and promotions being offered by companies such as first-time sponsor of the Canadian Olympic Association, General Mills Canada.
General Mills has enthusiastically embraced its sponsorship role on all levels – from backing the coa, its teams and individual athletes, to the development of packaging, contests and products commemorating the event. (See sidebar, p. 11.)
The all-encompassing program called ‘Bringing Home the Gold’ was put together by an in-house team led by Margaret Hastings, marketing director, cereals; Dave Struthers, marketing manager, desserts; and Greg Cyr, marketing manager, salty snacks.
Cyr says the decision by General Mills Canada to get involved with the coa for the Nagano Olympics had a lot to do with the success its u.s. parent company had stemming from its participation in the Atlanta Games.
‘We saw a huge opportunity to capitalize on the Olympic spirit in Canada,’ says Cyr, who adds the company has coordinated a solid Olympics plan, integrating packaging, in-store marketing and ‘in-out’ products that are Olympic specific.
General Mills has introduced five such products, all spin-offs of existing brands.
The first, Betty Crocker’s ‘Canada Cake Mix & Frosting,’ is a white cake with red specks in the batter that’s complemented by white frosting that comes with red and white candy maple leaves.
Hamburger Helper features three Championship Pasta shapes – a maple leaf, a skate, and an Olympic torch.
Similarly, the Olympic edition of Lucky Charms cereal has replaced its traditional marshmallow charms with six Olympic shapes.
Fruit Roll-Ups comes in a new red-and-white variety with a ninth bonus roll featuring gold, silver and bronze medal shapes to commemorate the Games.
And, for a limited time, DunkAroos boast Olympic hockey-shaped cookies plus an on-pack offer for a free Team Canada mini hockey stick.
In addition to the ‘in-out’ products, General Mills has dressed up 16 other cereals and snacks with Olympic-themed packaging featuring interactive games, contests, special Team Canada product offers and in-box merchandise such as Olympic collectible hologram cards.
They also make extensive use of the 10 individual athletes General Mills is sponsoring.
General Mills’ lineup of special packaging includes a Hockey Shoot-Out game built into the back of Honey Nut Cheerios boxes.
Folding down from the back and using a Cheerio as a puck, the player – a moveable mini Brendan Shanahan – can be used to score on a moveable u.s. goalie. It even includes an adjustable built-in scoreboard. A tag has been added to the end of the standard Honey Nut Cheerios television commercial promoting the game with the line, ‘Now it’s safe to play hockey in your kitchen.’
A strong in-store program promotes General Mills Olympic involvement with coupons, displays that include a large working version of the Shoot-Out game, as well as tie-ins with other Olympic sponsors, such as Roots and Coca-Cola.

Sidebar: The Breakfast of Champions comes to Canada
The Breakfast of Champions has landed in Canada – with a twist that is uniquely Canadian.
Although its launch was timed to tie into the Olympics for maximum impact, Maple Frosted Wheaties isn’t a limited-time product but rather a permanent addition to the General Mills Canada roster, developed specifically for the Canadian marketplace.
In Canada, as is the practice south of the border, Wheaties will be packaged in collector edition boxes. The launch version features Team Canada hockey players Brendan Shanahan and Cassie Campbell in English Canada, and Eric Desjardins and Nancy Drolet in Quebec.
Shanahan also stars in Maple Frosted Wheaties launch advertising from FCB Canada.
Collecting Wheaties boxes has become serious business in the u.s. with the 1984 Olympic edition – sporting American gymnast Mary-Lou Retton – now fetching us$100.
The first edition of Maple Frosted Wheaties also features a Team Canada 1998 Olympic Hockey Patch, visible through a clear plastic window in the front of the box.
The patch, which is attached to the inside front panel, can be removed and affixed to a jacket or kept as a souvenir of the Games.
The innovative box is the work of Savage Sloan Design Group.
The package will be replaced at the end of the Nagano Games with a second edition, featuring one of Canada’s Olympic champions.