# Pop-Tarts: The First Edible Mascot

> Its agency claimed 21 million more pastries sold after the televised mascot sacrifice.

- Owner: Pop-Tarts (Kellanova)
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Food & beverage
- Seed date: 2023-12-28
- Peak date: Week of Dec 29, 2023
- Date basis: Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 43 (Notable), v1.2
- Mechanics: Real-world spectacle, Transgression, Response chain, Platform jump, Press loop

## Summary

Pop-Tarts staged a mascot debut and toaster finale at its sponsored bowl. Unaffiliated clips became remixes and religious and workplace memes on X and Reddit. Press covered the reaction, and the brand later sold a mascot costume and staged Strawberry’s return.

## Timeline

- 2023-11-27 — Pop-Tarts (Press) — Pop-Tarts announced that the winning bowl team would eat a pastry version of its mascot.
- 2023-12-13 — Allrecipes (Open web) — Allrecipes covered Prop-Tarts, inviting fans to predict bowl moments involving the mascot to win pastries.
- 2023-12-27 — CNN News Central (TV) — CNN anchors discussed the announced edible mascot and asked how the team would eat it.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/pop-tarts-the-first-edible-mascot

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Pop-Tarts: The First Edible Mascot.” Case HIS-00390. Spread Score v1.2: 43/100. Updated 2026-10-13. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00390