General Mills Gets Multicultural

033_tbl_img.jpg
From General Mills' video news release promoting "Pancake Week"

General Mills "is simultaneously launching two separate PR campaigns targeting African-American and Hispanic communities," reports PR Week. The African-American campaign, headed by the firm Circulation Expertí, is called "Serving Up Soul." The promotion centers around a contest, judged by "lifestyle expert" B. Smith, "to find a woman 'who serves up soul [food] in the most creative way,'" according to the firm's Tenley-Ann Hawkins. The Hispanic campaign, headed by Hispania Public Relations, is called "Que Rica Vida" ("What a Rich Life"). The promotion centers on mural contests for children, held in Houston, Miami and Los Angeles. The contests "will be supported by a substantial promotional component called 'retailtainment' events, where the agency hands out goody bags." It also includes a Que Rica Vida magazine, with "sections on nutrition and home life."