the blaze strategy

For television viewers, the holiday season means commercials filled with rosy-cheeked Santas, computer-generated polar bears and brand-new cars festooned with big red bows.

“Our marketing has tried to be respectful and empathetic to what’s going to be a more challenging holiday season,” Brad Hiranaga, the chief brand officer for General Mills in North America, said in an interview. “Covid has forced us to shift focus to delivering value to consumers. And showing things that are the opposite of the world they’re living in does not do that.”