Legal.Now

Kellogg’s Cancels Phelps’s Contract

February 9, 2009 at 12:44 am Leave a comment

In the wake of the photograph ‘scandal’ (if you could call it that), Kellogg’s has decided to end its sponsorship of Michael Phelps. There is no doubt that this is some attempt to maintain their image as a ‘family’ brand; however, they fail to realize that nearly every family in this country (if you go by the statistics) has a member who has used marijuana.

It’s not that big of a stretch – if nearly half of all people in the country have used marijuana, and the average family has about four people (this includes immediate family members only), then finding a family without a member with a history of marijuana use is an anomaly.

Kellogg’s needs to hear about this. NORML has a good rundown, quoted below:

You can call Kellogg’s main telephone number during east coast business hours, Monday through Friday, at: (269) 961-2000 or toll free at: 1 (800) 962-1413.

You can e-mail Kellogg’s consumer services department by visiting: http://www2.kelloggs.com/ContactUs.aspx.

You can contact Kellogg’s media relation department at: 269-961-3799 or via e-mail at media.hotline@kellogg.com.

You can e-mail Kellogg’s corporate responsibility department at: corporateresponsibility@kellogg.com.

You can e-mail Kellogg’s investor relations department at: investor.relations@kellogg.com.

Or finally, you can write the Kellogg Company a letter at:

One Kellogg Square
P.O. Box 3599
Battle Creek, MI 49016-3599

When contacting the company, please be polite and concise. Tell them:

“Hi, my name is _____________ and I’m a frequent consumer of Kellogg’s products.

Nearly one out of two Americans has used marijuana. This includes tens of thousands of prominent, highly successful Americans — including our current President. Michael Phelps should not be stigmatized nor condemned for private behavior that he, and millions of others, engage in.

The majority of the public, as well as those in the media, are standing behind Michael Phelps and so am I. I will no longer be purchasing Kellogg’s brand products until your company reverses its decision and reinstates Michael Phelps as your spokesperson.”

As important as legislation is, a large part of it is driven by public perception (if indirectly).  Thus, Kellogg’s needs to understand the implications of their misguided conclusion that a person with any history of marijuana use does not represent their target market.

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