Research told us that Canadians loved simple, square wheat Shreddies but they had forgotten about them; not a total shock given that there'd been no advertising since 2002. The category had changed dramatically with a proliferation of new products and highly successful line extensions from powerhouse brands like Special K, All Bran and Mini Wheats. Ironically consumers conveyed that they loved their Shreddies just the way they were; our real challenge was that we were just not top of mind. To make people think about Shreddies again became our mission. A summer intern had this idea: Diamond Shreddies! New! We created a fake line extension—Shreddies turned 45 degrees. We served up this 'new' product by being authentic to the conventions of a Post new product launch. A communications plan was implemented with a straight face. TV, print, outdoor, Web site, pack redesign and PR were implemented to draw people into the campaign. TV drove to diamondshreddies.com for recipes, win a diamond contest, an interactive game and videos of actual focus groups testing the product using a comedian as the moderator. (The participants were great sports about it; fifteen of sixteen agreed to end up in Web and TV). At shelf, startled shoppers found Diamond Shreddies. These limited edition boxes sold out in two months (quantities were expected to last for four). A huge debate ensued (is it a joke or not?) with endless blog postings, rants and parodies on YouTube, and national press coverage. A fan even put 'the last square Shreddie' for sale on eBay (slightly damaged). Sales lifted dramatically. The campaign won a Grand Clio. We hired the intern. And everyone lived happily ever after.