Legal Commentary

Pot Activists' Kelloggs Boycott Has Impact

By Jeralyn

A few days ago I wrote about the call by marijuana reform advocates to boycott Kellogg's cereal for having canceled Michael Phelps' sponsorship deal.

The New York Times reports on the impact of boycott.

In one sign of the campaign's impact, the Phelps saga took precedence over the tainted peanut butter outbreak in the recorded reply on Kellogg's consumer hot line Tuesday.

''If you would like to share your comments regarding our relationship with Michael Phelps, please press one to speak to a representative,'' said the recording. ''If you're calling about the recent peanut butter recall, please press two now.''

[More...]

The activists' position:

''It's not just that Michael Phelps did what millions of other twenty-somethings do,'' said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. ''It's that he did what over one hundred million Americans have done at least once in their lives, including the president, former presidents, members of the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court.''

From Saturday Night Live:

On Saturday Night Live, Seth Myers questioned whether marijuana use was in fact at odds with Kellogg's image.

''Every one of your mascots is a wild-eyed cartoon character with uncontrollable munchies,'' Myers said. ''Every one of your products sounds like a wish a genie granted at a Phish concert.''

Kelloggs is the only company to cancel a Phelps deal due to the bong photo.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 10, 2009 (boomark / email).