‘Totes Amazeballs’ Cereal Became a Real Thing Because of Charlatans Tweet

Kellogg’s, you totally had us with “Totes Amazeballs” cereal until you said raisins. Dude, f*ck raisins.

I guess we have to back up a bit and explain the whole genesis of the cereal Totes Amazeballs, which is one of those expressions you utterly loathe until you find yourself saying it, kind of like, “you jelly?” The cereal went from something that didn’t exist to concept to actual product within about an hour, thanks to Twitter and lead singer of the UK band Charlatans, Tim Burgess. Burgess made a quip on Twitter about an imaginary cereal, unwittingly becoming a lesson in effective use of social media for business.

The musician explains:

“I heard someone use the expression ‘totes amazeballs,’ and it sounded like something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory… I sent a cheeky tweet saying I’d invented a new cereal and that Kellogg’s were interested. But within an hour they’d got in touch.”

Alas, only one box of the cereal- a very limited edition- was produced for Burgess, to his Twitter specs. (Rocky Road cake, Coco Pops Coco Rocks, marshmallows, shortbread pieces and raisins, if you were curious.) But the initiative garnered the brand some significant positive press even if it didn’t result in a marketable product just yet, and a rep for Kellogg’s commented:

“It all came about a few weeks ago when Tim tweeted his fans about wanting to create a super cereal called Totes Amazeballs. We really try to make the most of Twitter here at Kellogg’s, and when we saw the tweet, we knew we had to make something special for [Burgess].”

Would you like to see Totes Amazeballs available in your local supermarket? Should Kellogg’s add the cereal to its repertoire?