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College football bowl games are steeped in history and tradition, a staple of the sporting calendar for more than a century.
But some fans are beginning to voice their displeasure from the sidelines, with the sheer number of games becoming a particular sticking point. The 2023-24 season boasts a whopping 43 bowl games, with many falling outside the national championship. Even the Rose Bowl, arguably the best-known of them all, is more famous for its parade than the game itself.
That all changed one cold December night last year when an anthropomorphized toaster pastry named Strawberry was lowered into a giant toaster at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Cooked up by the marketing gurus at Pop-Tarts, this was the first-ever edible mascot in sports history, with the Kansas State Wildcats tearing into it after the game.
Pop-Tarts is no stranger to entertainment. The short-lived 1966 Batman Kellogg’s comics series helped the brand become a childhood favorite, and its sustained popularity has paved the way for a Jerry Seinfeld-starring Netflix film in the works, Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story.
Strawberry’s stunt catapulted Pop-Tarts into the mainstream once more. But the mascot’s short yet glorious life goes beyond simply a trending topic. The Pop-Tarts Bowl is a pop culture phenomenon that brought out the best of social media and, in doing so, baked the brand into football and marketing lore.
It’s a touchdown
Whether it’s Duke’s Mayo or Chick-fil-A Peach, the college football scene is a welcome home for food and drink sponsors. But a brand name alone isn’t enough to cut the mustard.
While whimsical, Strawberry wasn’t a random, shot-in-the-dark attempt at driving brand awareness. Pop-Tarts’ publicity stunt is forecast to earn the brand more than $12 million in exposure, which stems from following the well-known, well-worn recipe of The Hero’s Journey:
- An ordinary, inanimate pastry hears the call to adventure and becomes Strawberry, now life-sized and full of life through supernatural aid
- Strawberry’s transformation begins as challenges and temptations abound, like almost being licked by a football player
- Strawberry meets the abyss, a martyr figure experiencing death at the hands and mouths of the victors
- And finally rebirth, as a meme that will live on, finding new life as people make Strawberry’s story their own (and Pop-Tarts leaders hint we’ll see the mascot again soon)