General Mills wanted to launch a new breakfast cereal in Canada—Peanut Butter Cheerios. The challenge: introducing a fun, new flavour into a product category in steadfast decline. We knew moms were probably not going to buy it, so our solution was to target a new audience who might: Dads.

Since Dads have long been the punchlines of advertising, it was time for a change. This was our chance to give them the anthem they deserved. So we dubbed Peanut Butter Cheerios the “Official Cereal of Dadhood” and launched #HowToDad, an integrated campaign that included film, pre-rolls, TV, display, web content, and social engagement. This campaign generated worldwide awareness of Peanut Butter Cheerios, sparked highly positive global social engagement, and helped General Mills achieve 150% of their sales target.

Dad shouts-

Child: You awake?

Dad: Yeah, of course I’m awake. Is that a new mask?

Child: Yeah.

Dad: I love it. It’s really creepy.

Child: I know right?

Dad: Yeah, good stuff.

-Music Starts-

Dad: Hey let me introduce myself. My name is—

Child shouts: DAD!

Dad: and proud of it and all Dads should be.

Child: Dad! Dad! Dad!

Dad: Why? You know why. Kids think we’re awesome. We get our hands messy, we tell hilarious jokes. “Hey Nolan, we got to get up buddy”.

Child: Wake up you big lazy!

Dad: We never say no to dress up, we build the best forts, we do work work and we do homework. We lead by example and we blow their minds.

Child: I can’t believe he’s his father!

Dad: I know! That is what we call a plot twist. Being awesome isn’t about breaking rules it’s about making them. “Hot stuff coming through”! The wife and the coffee. And breakfast is for breakfast. “Hey Nolan give me a look here. Suggestion: That’s a boy that’s a man”. But it’s also for lunch, dinner, and midnight snacks. Scraped knees, aren’t boo-boo’s they are badges of bravery on the playground. “Hey Victoria, that profile pic – awesome!” When you’re a dad hugs can be bear hugs but they can also be high fives, fist bumps and next level handshakes. Kids, they’re our best friends, they’re our greatest fans, “Buddy you’ve been gaining muscle mass, nice” and they look to us like the same way we look at superheroes. Up—because we’re taller. Now, dad-hood isn’t always easy. When a rule is broken we’re the enforcement, “Hey buddy, its garbage day”. When a heart is broken, we’re the reinforcement and we wouldn’t have it any other way because being a dad is awesome. Just like Peanut Butter Cheerio’s, are awesome. That’s why it’s the official cereal of dad-hood. And this, this my friends – this is #HowToDad

-Dad plays with kids-

Overall, #HowToDad was extremely successful in driving high awareness and engagement across all of our channels. People all over the world spoke up to show their support of the campaign, and praised Peanut Butter Cheerios’ positive portrayal of dads. Countless dads took over our hashtag and made #HowToDad a symbol of pride, and synonymous with awesome parenting. The videos combined have over 5 million views, and we've received 90,000+ social engagements from over 140 countries. There’s an incredible 93% positive social sentiment; we reached 150% of General Mills’ targeted sales objective, saw a 300% global Cheerios brand lift, and received over 56,200,000 earned impressions.