If you spent any time on social media last year, you may remember the buzz surrounding the inaugural Pop-Tarts Bowl.
After Kansas State’s win over North Carolina State, a Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tart mascot “sacrificed” itself by climbing into a giant toaster, transforming into an edible cake that the winning team devoured in a bizarre, almost cannibalistic scene.
The stunt went viral and earned Weber Shandwick and Pop-Tarts a Cannes Lions Grand Prix and generated more than 21 million extra sales of toaster pastries in the eight weeks following the game, a brand spokesperson told the Sports Business Journal.
The 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl kicked off with a tribute to last year’s fallen mascot before a half-eaten, resurrected Frosted Strawberry mascot appeared high above the stadium walls to Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.”
“Once I heard the crowd roaring for our resurrected Strawberry Mascot, I knew we did it,” said Jenny Lindquist, senior director of full-funnel marketing for Pop-Tarts at Kellanova.
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