Honey Nut Cheerios Buzz the Bee Mascot Goes Missing!

In an effort to raise awareness of the decline in pollinator populations, General Mills in Canada has launched an integrated marketing campaign revolving around finding a solution to unstable bee populations. 

To draw attention to the cause, General Mills has temporarily removed Buzz the Bee from Honey Nut Cheerios packaging. In an Adweek Magazine article, Emma Eriksson, director of Marketing for General Mills Canada, said "This is the first time in the brand's history that we've taken 'Buzz' off the box, One-third of the foods we depend on for our survival are made possible by the natural pollination work that bees provide. With ongoing losses in bee populations being reported across Canada, we wanted to leverage our packaging to draw attention to this important cause and issue a call to action to Canadians to help plant 35 million wildflowers—one for every person in Canada."

The campaign includes free packets of wildflower seeds, contests, free product samples, a special website - www.bringbackthebees.ca - and new television ads.

As of this writing, there is no word on whether The Big G is going to extend the campaign into the United States.

Similarly, there is no word on whether General Mills is going to mention the role pesticides and GMOs have in honeybee endangerment.

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