In the United States, eight out of ten LGBTQ youth report being bullied. More than half do not report these experiences and have felt unsafe at school.

Kellogg’s is one of the most well-known food companies in the world and its brands are part of families’ everyday lives. Spirit Day is the most visible anti-bullying campaign in the United States that millions of students participate in each year. We saw this as a time to use our large platform and lead by example by honoring all families and spread a message of acceptance.

Our objective was to show these students that they are not alone in the world. By showing that we stand with them in solidarity and getting more people in the world to show their support online, we can help them feel more confident and safe.

We partnered with GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and created a new brand of cereal - All Together. We brought our iconic mascots and cereals together for the first time as a symbol of acceptance no matter how you look, where you’re from, or who you love. We launched a limited edition on Spirit Day, and for every box we gave away, we made a donation to GLAAD. We also asked that people sign the Spirit Day pledge against bullying to show solidarity with LGBTQ youth.

It was an instant hit, but then something predictably terrible happened. Our anti-bullying message was bullied from the hateful corners of the Internet. So we re-released it online to keep spreading our message of inclusion. It quickly sold out and we silenced the hate with voices of acceptance and love.

Our target audience is junior high and high school students across the country. These students deal with or are witnesses to bullying on a daily basis. Over eighty percent of LGBTQ students are bullied and more than half of them do not report it out of fear.

We feel that every student has a right to feel safe in the world. Kellogg’s is known as a family brand and we are with millions of families every morning during breakfast. So for the first time ever we brought together our iconic mascots and cereals in one box.

We had only planned a limited release of our new brand, but we were immediately bullied online for our message of inclusion. So we released more and kept spreading our anti-bullying message. We reached more people than we thought we would, and the voices of love drowned out the hateful trolls online.

On Spirit Day 2018, we launched All Together Cereal at an event in NYC. People came and grabbed a box, and then signed the Spirit Day Pledge against bullying to show their support for those bullied. For every box given away, we made a donation to GLAAD. Initially, we started with a limited edition of 2,000 boxes of All Together Cereal. But soon the Internet started bullying our message of acceptance and inclusion. So we re-released 2,000 more boxes online to keep spreading our message. All proceeds went to LGBTQ youth charities. We wanted to show the world that hate doesn’t win and that a message of love and acceptance will always prevail.

Across digital and social media, #SpiritDay obtained 2.2 billion impressions in 2018 and created over 5 million impressions and over 150,000 engagements. Spirit Day media activity resulted in 48M impressions up 14% from last year. Every single box of All Together Cereal sold out and resulted in almost $60,000 in donations to GLAAD. Our total budget was less than $50,000.

All Together Cereal reached more people than we thought possible and wider release will be hitting American retail stores in 2019.