How a Live Sacrifice Led to 7X Google Searches

As a former D1 football player (BEARCAT FOR LIFE), I get unhealthily invested super nostalgic about Bowl Season.

It’s a culmination of an entire season of work and determination. It’s where the fundamentals you’ve been hammering all season pay off.

It’s also a great Marketing opportunity. 

In recent years, my favorite thing to watch on the field isn’t just the players—it’s the sponsors. 

And the brand that’s leading the charge is my favorite portable breakfast pastry. 

SORRY toaster strudel, this week we’re talking about…

THE POP-TARTS BOWL.

Bowls weren’t always the billboard that they are today. 

Up until around 40 years ago, bowls were named for local agriculture (Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, etc.)

But after the NCAA lost a landmark Supreme Court case in 1984 and its monopoly over TV rights, college sports became big business (you’re welcome for the fun fact to impress your boss). 

Schools or conferences could negotiate their own deals and with new deals came new, wider, nationwide exposure. 

And when you have nationwide distribution, advertisers come running rushing. (Yes, that’s a football pun.)

For example, it cost  Capital One $25 million PER YEAR to secure sponsorship rights for the Orange Bowl in 2014.

But of course, not all bowls are created equal (looking at you, Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl). 

When it comes to Bowl Games, some brands are guilty of the worst Marketing sin:

APATHY.

Sponsoring a Bowl Game is essentially a three-hour commercial, with your brand name repeated by every sportscaster across the country. 

But just slapping your logo on the event and calling it a day? It’s not enough.

That’s why when I watched this year’s Pop-Tart Bowl between Miami and Iowa State, I was absolutely blown away.

Let me break it down for you.

Reason number 1️⃣ why I love the Pop-Tart Bowl: 

They pay attention to every single detail. 

There are a ton of moving parts when it comes to putting on a Bowl Game.

(And if you don’t believe me go read this Reddit thread about the 2022 Bahamas Bowl. It’ll leave you in stitches.)

Pop-Tart left no stone unturned.

Trophy that’s an actually functioning toaster? Check.

Lovable and funny mascots that steal the spotlight? ✅ 

Sidelines covered in sprinkles (which required special NCAA approval)? ✅

Award presentation where the previously-mentioned mascot is cooked alive? ✅

Reason number 2️⃣ why I love the Pop-Tart Bowl: 

They lean into the meme. 

As a Marketer, leaning into the meme is terrifying. 

You’re handing over control of your brand’s narrative to the internet—a chaotic crowd that doesn’t always play nice. 

Personally, it makes me sweat.

But for Pop-Tarts, it makes them smile.

After last year’s ritualistic “sacrifice” of the Strawberry Pop-Tart, the internet exploded with jokes about how gruesome it seemed. 

Instead of shrugging it off and not repeating the tradition, they DOUBLED-DOWN. 

Before the game, fans were directed to look to the video board for a “memorial” for last year’s mascot. 

Then at the end of the video, the Strawberry mascot appeared next to the video board and made appearances throughout the game. 

This set social media on FIRE and people couldn’t stop talking about it. 

While leaning into the meme is scary in the moment, your brand will be better for it. 

Almost like a cold plunge. 

Reason number 3️⃣ why I love the Pop-Tart Bowl:

It just works. 

In the age of Meta pixels and instant attribution, soooo many Marketers have turned their back on Brand.

I get it. After all, what good is a purchase if you can’t track it (and repeat it?). I’m a Marketing Ops guy after all.

But the more experience I’ve had as a Marketer, the more I realize that Brand Marketing IS Performance Marketing. 

Brand is so much more than a name and a logo.

Brand is that thing that sticks in the back of your mind and makes you buy something even if you weren’t planning on it. 

And let me tell you, people bought a whole lot of Pop-Tarts even though they weren’t planning on it. 

Kellanova (Pop-Tarts’ parent company) sold 21 million more Pop-Tarts in the eight weeks following the Bowl than in the eight weeks prior, and game-day searches for Pop-Tarts soared to 7X their annual average.

7X.

That made it the most successful earned media campaign in Pop-Tarts history.

I’m here to shout this from the mountaintops: BRAND MARKETING WORKS!

PUT IT IN PRACTICEThink about your brand.    It’s 2025.  You need to be strategically thinking about how you promote your brand and how brand advertising plays into your larger plans. No more running straight sales campaigns. You need to diversify your media mix. Here’s your homework: Go read this X post by Preston Rutherford, cofounder of Chubbies, about the 95/5 rule.