Kellogg Feigns Legal Action, Responds to ‘Unfrosted’ Movie with ‘Trat-Pops’
Kellogg claims Jerry Seinfeld did not ask permission to use several of the company’s trademarks in his new movie “Unfrosted,” a current Netflix feature that equates the creation of the toaster pastry to the moon landing.
Whether the trademark issue is true or not, Kellogg -- actually Kellanova, since the company's split last year -- is happy to capitalize on the buzz with limited-edition Unfrosted Strawberry “Trat-Pops” packaging, as seen in the film, “the perfect collectable item for Pop-Tarts and Seinfeld fans alike.”
“Unfrosted” tells the partly true, mostly comedic fiction, story of the 1963 race between Kellogg and Post, both based in Battle Creek, Mich., to create the shelf-stable toaster pastry. It stars Seinfeld, who also co-wrote it, as Kellogg’s head of product development, with Jim Gaffigan as fictional Edsel Kellogg III and Amy Schumer as the real Marjorie Post. It has a host of cameos from stars, including Melissa McCarthy, Hugh Grant, Christian Slater, Jon Hamm and John Slattery.
A character portraying TV newsman Walter Cronkite accidentally reads the product name backward, and the prototype packaging comes out Trat-Pop.
Real Pop-Tarts in the misspelled packaging apparently are available in a lottery for a limited time on poptarts.com/Unfrosted; no purchase necessary.
Kellanova also created a fun two-minute video in which Kellogg’s executives call in Seinfeld for the trademark infringement. Just as the comedian stole the toaster pastry’s brand, Kellogg has stolen Seinfeld-created characters Schmoopie (an ex-girlfriend), lawyer Jackie Chiles and the Soup Nazi, all memorable characters in the 1989-1998 Seinfeld TV show.
The movie is a fun watch; so is the two-minute video.
BTW, Kellanova, which was not involved in the making of the movie adds, “ ‘Unfrosted’ is farce not fact – the movie is a fictional account of Pop-Tarts' history and is meant for entertainment purposes. The film is not a factual representation of the founding of the brand, nor is it based on true events.”
The ultimate spoiler.
