Cinnamon Toast Crunch Goes Cannibal in New Horror Ads

Happily, if you eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch, you do not qualify as a cannibal or a horror monster of any kind. But the same cannot be said for this cereal stalker. The stop-motion ads are shot like mini thrillers, and honestly, very well done. They evoke a little Dexter, a little Hannibal, and a little American Psycho. All movies we love. Given the age we live in, a little dark humor from our breakfast seems to make a lot of sense. You can even catch little Easter eggs like a cookbook titled “Breakfast to Die For” on the shelf. And we love that all the stop-motion was done by animators and NOT by AI.

Brandon Tyrrell, senior marketing communications manager at General Mills, shares of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch horror movie vision, which targets Gen Z consumers. “These are people who still love the brand and have deep nostalgic ties to it, but they’re now older teens. They’re looking for stories and humor that match where they are in life — smarter, more layered, and a little more self-aware.”

Gen Z, from what we know, does have a strange sense of humor. And this evokes something in millennials, as well, a kind of nostalgia for breakfast cereal ads gone by, twisted up into something darker. And who doesn’t like a brand that will take a chance? We applaud Cinnamon Toast Crunch for its cannibalistic horror ads and sense of humor. It resonates with us, so something has gone right.