17327: On Bringing Back Black Blasts From The Past.

The previous post on Dos Equis spotlighted a common practice among White advertising agencies, whereby iconic campaign characters are revived and/or resuscitated to reinvigorate a brand.

 

The reintroductions include gushing from CEOs, CMOs, and CCOs, revealing sales were best during promotions of the past, the updated critter will ignite a boring category, the public demanded the reappearance, blah, blah, blah.

 

Has anyone considered bringing back Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus?

 

The same marketing criteria mentioned above can surely be applied to the famed triumvirate.

 

Hell, Honey Bunches of Oats once coaxed Diana Hunter—the Honey Bunches of Oats Lady—out of retirement.

 

Who’s next—Mia the Land O’Lakes Native American Maiden, the Frito Bandito, and Annie the Chicken Queen?

 

Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war!

16758: Happy Labor Day.

 

On Labor Day, Adland honors and recognizes the workers.

15148: Annie The Chicken Queen Has Flown The Coop.

The Popeyes YouTube channel tells the true story: Annie The Chicken Queen is gone. And she didn’t even get a send-off like the Honey Bunches of Oats Lady. Damn.

 

14332: Honey Bunches Of Shit.

Us Weekly reported the latest Honey Bunches of Oats campaign stars the retired Honey Bunches of Oats Lady rhyming about the cereal. Post had to bring in a new White advertising agency to produce this? She’s back. She’s Black. The shop’s a hack. Diversity they lack. The campaign’s wack.

Retired Honey Bunches of Oats Lady, Diana Hunter, Stars in New Commercial: Watch!

By Samantha Leffler

The Honey Bunches of Oats lady is coming out of retirement! The beloved former employee, whose real name is Diana Hunter, was the face of the cereal for many years, but stepped away from her job at Post (the makers of Honey Bunches of Oats) and her role in the breakfast food’s ads when she retired in 2017.

However, in the midst of declining sales across the cereal industry, Post has brought Hunter back for a new, rhyming TV spot, which debuts on Tuesday, October 9. In the 30-second commercial, which is part of a larger new ad campaign, Hunter is shown in her trademark red uniform standing alongside a conveyor belt of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal boxes, a position she has occupied in several other ads for the cereal.

The new “rhymes with delicious” spot features Hunter and another employee making up playful rhymes about Honey Bunches of Oats while they’re hard at work. “Crispy, crunchy bunches, for breakfast, brunch and lunch, to fill your bags and totes, with Honey Bunches of Oats,” Hunter sings.

For Post, Hunter’s retirement had the company at an “important juncture,” according to a statement to Ad Agefrom chief managing officer Roxanne Bernstein. Hunter, the longtime face of the breakfast staple, began working for the corporation in 1976 and appeared in her first Honey Bunches of Oats commercial in 2002.

“The cereal category is notoriously plentiful. With choice-overload in the cereal aisle, there’s no question why,” Bernstein added. That’s part of the reason why Post elected to bring Hunter back as the company kicked off a new campaign, which was created by ad agency Argonaut. Though the additional ads don’t feature Hunter, they do stick with the fun sing-songy rhyming scheme that’s used in her spot, and each ad ends with “Honey Bunches of Oats.”

“This really is about multiplicity, we want to really surround people with this song, with this kind of rhyme-y technique,” Hunter Hindman, founder and chief creative of Argonaut told Ad Age.

He added: ”We’re really trying to surround people with this interesting kind of take on a mnemonic device of rhyming in every medium we can.”

14247: Are You Hungry For Memories?

AgencySpy posted on Post picking ARGONAUT as its new White advertising agency for Honey Bunches of Oats. The incumbent White advertising agency—Public Works—had only worked on the cereal brand for roughly a year. The new shop appears to be equally exclusive in terms of staff makeup. Whatever. But the most shocking news in the story involved Diana Hunter—aka the Honey Bunches of Oats Lady—who retired from her spokeswoman role and actual factory job. To compensate for missing the milestone, here here here here are celebratory moments.

Honey Bunches of Oats Picks Argonaut to Handle Creative, Social

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

Honey Bunches of Oats, the Post Consumer Brands cereal, has chosen Project Worldwide’s San Francisco-based shop, Argonaut, as its agency of record to handle all creative and social media duties following a review that began in December.

The pitch was overseen internally by Post Consumer Brands and included incumbent creative shop Minneapolis’s Public Works and two other unnamed agencies.

“Argonaut impressed us for many reasons throughout the process,” Post Consumer Brands CMO Roxanne Bernstein said in a statement. “They are a thoughtful, curious, and highly collaborative team that truly creates both breakthrough and business-changing work on behalf of their clients.”

The review was launched after Honey Bunches of Oats’s longtime beloved spokeswoman, Diana Hunter, retired last year. Argonaut said in a statement that the cereal brand was “struggling to find its foothold in the category” (which is already a pressured space as cereal sales continue to dwindle) after the spokeswoman, known widely as “the Honey Bunches of Oats lady”—and a real company factory worker—retired.

Argonaut said executive team members Hunter Hindman, founder and chief creative officer; Max Heilbron, founder and chief strategy officer; Katie Miller, head of brand management and new business; and CEO Robert Riccardi together oversaw the growth of the PepsiCo-owned Frito-Lay portfolio while they were at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, making the agency “no stranger to the CPG category.”

Hindman called Honey Bunches of Oats “a brand we all grew up with in our pantries—it’s a breakfast classic.” He said the pitch-winning campaign is “unapologetically catchy,” and it’s set to break in the fourth quarter of this year.

Honey Bunches of Oats’s annual reported media spend is $30 million.

14003: BHM 2018—Honey Bunches Of Oats.

Okay, it’s technically not a Black History Month promotion, but the local grocery store has a special sale on Honey Bunches of Oats—which indirectly salutes the Honey Bunches of Oats Lady.

13941: This Is What Hacks Made.

The Honey Bunches of Oats Lady is bragging, “This is what I made!” That’s something the responsible creative team should never proudly utter in reference to the commercial.

13779: Annie The Honey Pot.

This Popeyes Hot Honey Crunch Tenders commercial could have been a perfect opportunity to team up Annie the Chicken Queen and the Post Honey Bunches of Oats Lady—plus, throw in BuzzBee from Honey Nuts Cheerios to complete the terrible trifecta.

13775: Honey Bunches Of Whites.

AgencySpy posted that Public Works in Minneapolis won AOR duties for Post Honey Bunches of Oats. Peeking at the staff of the White advertising agency makes any thoughts of reviving the Honey Bunches of Oats Lady downright scary.

13225: Stereotypical Animal Magnetism.

Not sure what inspired the voiceover in this Lowe’s commercial—Annie the Chicken Queen, Pine Sol Lady, Honey Bunches of Oats’ Diana or the Summer’s Eve Talking Vagina…?

11914: 15+ Racist Brand Mascots.

Business Insider presented 15 Racist Brand Mascots And Logos That Make The Redskins Look Progressive. Notably absent from the list: Annie the Chicken Queen, The Pine-Sol Lady, Chad and Ranjit, Ancient Chinese Secret Lady, Honey Bunches of Oats Woman and Talking Vaginas.

10673: I’m Every Woman.

The Business Insider presented 18 Ads That Changed How We Think About Women—and in typical exclusionary fashion, the list failed to include Aunt Jemima, the Pine-Sol Lady, the Honey Bunches of Oats Lady, Annie the Chicken Queen and the Talking Vagina from Summer’s Eve.

9878: Honey Bunches Of Bullshit.

This Honey Bunches of Oats commercial is frighteningly awful. How could any self-respecting creative director approve this shit? The cycling cereal hawkers are bad enough, but the neighborhood from hell—featuring odd couples of outdated stereotypes—is pathetic. The absence of children is disturbing too. Then again, it’s preferable that these freaks are not breeding.





Bring back the Honey Bunches of Oats Lady pronto.

9869: Oh Happy Day.

Happy International Women’s Day To All!

9813: Honey Bunches Of Oats Lady Is Back…?

Advertising Age reported Post is seeking to ignite brand awareness and sales with renewed marketing efforts for Great Grains and Honey Bunches of Oats. Great. Just in time for Black History Month, the Honey Bunches of Oats Lady may be back.

Essay 4946

The Sunday newspaper’s coupon collection hit the cultural trifecta: Rastus, Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben. Hey, where’s Post Honey Bunches of Oats laborer Diana?