The Pop-Tarts Bowl featured the ritual sacrifice of the brand mascot. It was weird. But was it smart?

Who knew eating your mascot on live TV could help drive sales. That’s precisely the gamble the marketing team behind Pop-Tarts took during a college football bowl game Thursday.

Click here to read the story at fastcompany.com.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is sponsorship?
2. Why do brands sponsor sports and entertainment events?
3. Why would a brand want to sponsor a college bowl game?
4. What might that tell you about the demographic that the sponsor is hoping to reach?
5. What is sponsorship activation?
6. Based on what you learned in this news story, describe the Pop-Tarts activation for this bowl game.
7. Who do you think Pop-Tarts is hoping to reach by sponsoring the Pop-Tarts Bowl?
8. According to this story, what was the name of this bowl game last year?
9. Why do you think it was changed?
10. Why do you think they chose to eat the mascot on live TV?
11. According to this story, how much did the game generate in media exposure for Pop-Tarts?
12. Why is that important?
13. This story suggests that the edible mascot also became a meme on social media. How might the brand benefit from that?