When the Kellogg Company, which owns the Keebler brand and all those cookies made by elves in trees, got wind of a beautifully miniscule “door” constructed at the base of a tree in San Francisco, they did what anyone would have done: co-opt someone’s personal art project as a cross-platform branding opportunity: Now, Kellogg has initiated an elf-sponsored campaign that’s resulted in more than 40 miniature doors on trees across the country. But despite the campaign’s best intentions of bringing “elfin lore into the real world,” the original door-maker, who simply took the project on as something fun to do with his 6-year-old son, apparently wanted no part of the marketing magic. “My kid doesn’t watch TV and my kid doesn’t eat cookies,” he reportedly said, declining the offer to participate in the campaign. [Adage]
