Dive Brief:
- Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes is attempting to grow its cultural relevance through a tie-up with rap artist JID for a new take on the brand’s ‘90s-era “Hey Tony” jingle, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
- The remixed “Hey Tony” track is available on streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music, and blends JID’s style with original verses designed to reflect the uplifting energy of brand mascot Tony the Tiger. The song will be paired with limited-edition brand merchandise and a collectible cereal box.
- “Hey Tony” will be introduced to consumers at Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Day Ones Bowl Game on Feb. 22. The effort from Frosted Flakes is designed to reintroduce a new generation of consumers to Tony the Tiger and follows similar efforts from others in the CPG space.
Dive Insight:
Frosted Flakes is attempting to build relevance with younger consumers, who may not have as strong of a connection to brand mascot Tony the Tiger as kids from the ‘90s, with a remix to its “Hey Tony” jingle. The push to put a fresh spin on an iconic brand jingle has also been leveraged by others in the CPG space recently, including J.M. Smucker’s brand Folgers and Coca-Cola brand Fanta.
The new track leverages JID’s flow and positive energy to emphasize Tony the Tiger’s longstanding brand persona of motivating and building confidence in kids. The song draws upon JID’s nostalgic recollections of eating Frosted Flakes as a child through lyrics like, “Had the cereal, remember, they were simpler times as a kid watching cartoons or going outside with my friends,” and “In the jungle, there’s no need for gym, until Tony told me how to release the tiger within.”
The remix is positioned as a modern approach to Frosted Flakes’ marketing, moving away from ad-oriented jingles of the past toward “sound-led branding” that can live on its own outside of commercial advertising, per release details. Tony the Tiger was first introduced in 1952.
The remixed track will be introduced to consumers at Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Day Ones Bowl Game on Feb. 22. The event will include three games of seven-on-seven football played at the Carrollton High School sports facilities in JID’s hometown of Atlanta.
The partnership also includes a line of limited-edition “Day Ones” apparel, as well as a collectible cereal box featuring a custom illustration of Tony the Tiger and JID and a QR code linking to the track on Spotify. The box will be available only through JID’s online store. The work was handled by a Publicis Groupe Power of One team that includes Leo Chicago, MSL and Starcom.
The effort is not the first by the Kellogg’s brand to revamp its signature mascot to appeal to a new generation. In 2022, the company worked with Twitch’s Brand Partnership Studio to launch Tony the Tiger as an interactive VTuber. The mascot has also appeared on TikTok in recent years. Food conglomerate Ferrero acquired WK Kellogg Co. in September 2025.
