When I was a kid Special K was famous for precisely ONE product, and to me its brand story was ‘nicer than Corn Flakes, but my mum says it’s too expensive’. In other words, an occasional treat.
I do remember the advertising on TV and on-pack for the ‘Special K breakfast’: with low fat milk and orange juice, 250 calories the lot. I never thought of it as a product for women on a diet, though my teenage daughter seems to have cottoned-on early to its true purpose.
In keeping with our collective obsession with choice, Special K is no longer a product, but a mega-brand with 2 metres of shelf space to contain all its flavours and formats.
Despite the extensive range the packaging remains single-mindedly brand-focused, meaning you’re going to have to look hard to find a favourite.
This new introduction gets some shelf impact from a fully metallic ‘New’ flash and a shaped box, but otherwise business as usual. If I watched TV I might know what’s Special about it, but the pack doesn’t give enough away after that first glitzy approach.
Oh look, that one’s got a free dress…