Tony the Tiger Now Grrreat! with Dads

Tony the Tiger is changing roles with the times, and so is advertising for the Kellogg's Frosted Flakes that he has so distinctively represented for 60 years. The cereal giant is asking its venerable mascot to play offense instead of defense in a new approach to advertising its so-non-PC sugary cereal.

Kellogg's TV ad features an athletic Tony clowning around in the back yard with a father, his young son, and playing baseball.

With the noose tightening around Kellogg's freedom to advertise Frosted Flakes to kids, because regulators and activists are trying to further throttle promotion of suspect foods directly to children, the company has decided to try some new tactics.

Instead of targeting moms, Kellogg's is aiming directly at fathers. As Ad Age notes, more dads are buying groceries these days, and more fathers say they're eating Frosted Flakes along with their children.

And if parents decide they want to buy Frosted Flakes that they happen to enjoy eating with their kids — well, is that something the Center for Science in the Public Interest would want to stop? Even an executive of the food-policing organization was quoted by Ad Age as at least crediting the new Kellogg ad with showing a child engaged in physical activity.

And the appeal to testosterone — even in its cute, prepubescent form — makes for a winning campaign. In a football-playing spot, there are chest bumps, high-fives, references to being "wide open" and a "fumble," and the dad even saying to his son, "Let's see if we can get one past the defense" — who is Tony.

So, offense, defense or special teams, Tony the Tiger, and Kellogg's, are scoring in this game.