Cornelius the cockerel is strutting off the Kellogg’s box and onto your screens in the brand’s new campaign film, See You in the Morning, created by Leo Burnett. Set to Jurassic 5 track Jayou, which handily features a Rice Krispies reference in the lyrics, the cockerel is shown marching around a city as the world is waking up. This marks the first time that the cockerel, first introduced in 1958, has been presented in 3D thanks to a collaboration with leading studio Framestore.

“See You in the Morning is our new platform for an iconic brand,” says Leo Burnett CCO Mark Elwood. “We wanted to celebrate Kellogg’s’ legacy by bringing back Cornelius, the mascot, with all his original swagger, while giving him a fresh energy to connect with a new generation.”

Whether or not the Kellogg’s mascot really had a great deal of swagger to begin with, the campaign clearly intends to imbue it with some, presumably in the hope that it will appeal to young people who are surrounded by 3D characters, avatars and mascots. However, the overall approach – an animated chicken storming through a city to the sound of a rhythmic beat – will feel familiar to anyone who’s seen KFC’s Believe in Chicken advert by Mother.

The cockerel mascot is of course most closely associated with Kellogg’s Cornflakes, while the other cereal sub-brands such as Coco Pops and Rice Krispies have typically come with their own mascots. However, Kellogg’s has plans to make Cornelius more aligned with these other cereals as part of a new masterbrand devised by Landor. The drive to create more cohesion builds on earlier work to unite a visual identity with the introduction of a custom typeface developed by foundry XYZ.

The brand platform will evolve with social films launching in the new year that will see the cockerel getting to know the nation’s various breakfast routines.

Credits:
Agency: Leo Burnett
CCO: Mark Elwood
Creative Director: Marcus Aitman
Senior Creative: Joe Miller
Design Lead: Miriam Menendez
Motion Design Lead: Carmen Perez Jimenez
Designer: Karolina Alvekrans
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Edit House: WhiteHouse
Sound: Harbor
VFX House: Framestore
ECD: William Bartlett
2D Supervisor: Jonni Isaacs
CG Supervisor: Joel Savage
Animation Supervisor: Rocky Vanoost
Colour Grade: Company 3