Who needs the natty? Pop-Tarts Bowl is returning and it's as unhinged as ever
By Austen Bundy
It's fair to say that after just two years the Pop-Tarts Bowl has been a massive success in college football. The Kellogg Company, which bought the naming rights to the game in 2020, changed the name from the Cheez-It Bowl over to the Pop Tarts Bowl for the 2023 season.
Since then, fans have been introduced to some of the most wacky yet entertaining marketing and brand strategies ever introduced to the sport including live Pop-Tart mascots being lowered into giant toaster ovens for the winning team to consume (yes, actually eat it).
I still can't get over the Pop-Tart Bowl.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) December 29, 2023
The live Pop-Tart disappearing into a toaster while holding a sign that says "Dreams really do come true" only to get eaten by the winning team on the other end is pure marketing genius.
Easily the best bowl gamepic.twitter.com/G1EqRwkBXm
Because of those innovative ideas, Kellogg's has seen a spike in Pop-Tarts sales after the game's stunts went viral online. Sports and product placement continue to go hand in hand, especially in this chronically online era.
Pop-Tarts Bowl announces its triumphant return the only unhinged way it knows how
Monday night, while fans have their eyes glued to their televisions for the College Football National Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, the Pop-Tarts Bowl posted a video to X announcing it would be coming back next season. Of course, the theatrics were just as crazy as you would think.
Don’t be scared. This mascot’s just here to say there’s more football on the way. We’re having too much fun to stop now. #PopTartsBowl pic.twitter.com/hEojoMDI89
— Pop-Tarts Bowl (@PopTartsBowl) January 21, 2025
The video is set in the immediate aftermath of Iowa State's thrilling 42-41 victory over Miami on Dec. 28. A stadium employee is cleaning up the trophy ceremony confetti in the hallway under the stands when the Pop-Tart mascot from 2023 (who was eaten and then revived mid-game in 2024 - don't ask, just watch) appears behind him and chases him into one of the locker rooms.
There he's cornered by it and the Cinnamon Roll mascot from this season (who was also eaten). The worker then quotes the 1999 classic film The Sixth Sense by saying "I see dead pastries" upon which the words "The Pop-Tarts Bowl will return" pop up on screen like the end of a Marvel movie's credits.
The official bowl season schedule for 2025 has not been released yet but fans can imagine the Pop-Tarts Bowl will be one of the most anticipated of the new year and will be sure to garner just as many if not more eyeballs for the third installment.
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