Summary
An August 2023 Frosted Flakes commercial features an unusual song choice, the theme song from the hit sitcomCheers. Frosted Flakes, the sugar-coated corn flake cereal from Kellogg’s, have been enticing children to the breakfast table since their introduction in 1952. However, the 12 grams of sugar per 1 cup serving of cereal have likely made guardians hem and haw while in the breakfast aisle (viaSmartLabel). To solve this, Frosted Flakes has done what sugary cereal brands have done for decades and advertised constantly, taking aim at children and the adults who shop for them.
Unlike a cereal likeHoneycomb, which has switched up its mascot over the years, Frosted Flakes has stuck with the tried and true since the beginning of the product, Tony the Tiger.“They’re Gr-r-reat,” has an argument for being one of the most memorable food product slogans of all time, much less the most memorable cereal slogan. Frosted Flakes has not had to do much more than show the grinning tiger doing various activities, often something athletic, to showcase the food, but a 2023 commercial adds a wrinkle that older audiences will appreciate.
The 11 Best TV Show Theme Songs Of All Time
Across genres, decades, and streaming platforms, some TV shows feature iconic theme songs that have forever left a mark on pop culture.
The Cheers Theme Song Has A Calming Effect In The Frosted Flakes Commercial
The Song Works Well With What’s Happening On Screen Even If It’s An Unusual Choice
In the August 2023 commercial, theCheerstheme song plays over an assortment of random scenes. One is of a child being pelted by a barrage of dodgeballs, another is a classic “final girl” horror character running from a werewolf, one is an animated scene of a woman being electrocuted, another is of a hockey player being bodychecked into the glass, and the last is a fighter pilot going down. The only similarity between the scenes is that in each,the subjects who should be worried, scared, or in pain are smiling contently and eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes.
While theCheerstheme song is undoubtedly a great tune, it is a bit of a random choice for a children’s cereal commercial. The internet was filled with commenters wondering about the decision. OneRedditthread, in a subreddit pointedly titled r/CommercialsIHate, had users discussing the song choice.u/BillyBobBarkerJrJrwrote,
“It makes sense with a neighborhood bar but not a bowl of corn flakes. They might just as well have used Paint It Black or The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald for all the sense it makes.”
u/PurpleDreamer28posted,
“Exactly how is this song related to Frosted Flakes? ‘You wanna go where everybody knows your name.’ What?”
Their points are taken, but the use of the song is not actually that random. The song in its original use wasabout finding a happy place during hard times. The first verse is,
“Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you’ve got
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot Wouldn’t you like to get away?”
That’s essentially the point of the commercial. Every person who appears is suffering some sort of bad day, ranging from a dodgeball to the face to a werewolf bearing down on them, but they’ve all managed to take a break from their worries, with a big bowl of Frosted Flakes. Really,the only reason the song is somewhat out of place is its association with an old show about a bar. Otherwise, it works very well to set the mood of the ad.
“Where Everybody Knows Your Name” Has Been Featured In Other Commercials
Singer And Songwriter Gary Portnoy Made A Living Off The Song
This isn’t the first time theCheerstheme has been used in a commercial, generally for comic effect.The song, titled “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”, was written by Judy Angelo Hart and Gary Portnoy and performed by Portnoy (viaAmerican Songwriter). It’s appeared in several other commercials, including ones for Domino’s Pizza, Applebee’s, and Rabobank, a Dutch bank, often with overt references toCheers.
“Where Everybody Knows Your Name” received an Emmy nomination in 1983 for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics.
Portnoy says the song changed his life. He says about becoming a TV theme writer,
“If you do something well once, they kind of assume that’s what you do… I got record deals, but I never really had the temperament or the drive to do that. So I was very happy to be able to be a songwriter, but I definitely became a TV theme writer without ever intending to be.”
Portnoy ended up writing theme songs forPunky BrewsterandMr. Belvedereas well. His work onCheersended up being a big boon for Portnoy,
“I had to join the Screen Actors Guild to sing that song, because it was being used under a SAG contract. Just like the actors in the show had to be in SAG, I had to be as well. It’s one of the best things that ever happened to me. At the time it cost me $600…”
Even those people who have never seenCheerswill know the lyrics to the song, proof that “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” has left an indelible mark on pop culture.
Cheers
Cast
One of the most well-known American sitcoms of the 1980s and 90s, Cheers is primarily set in Boston at the Cheers bar, and features and ensemble cast that includes Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Pearlman, Kelsey Grammer, and George Wendt. Danson’s Sam Malone acts as the bar’s proprietor, and episodes depict the lives of Cheers' staff and patrons during the bar’s operating hours. The series ran for 11 seasons and gave rise to popular spin-off shows such as Frasier.
