Purdue, IN - Pepsi Corporation and Purdue University announced today that Purdue’s Head Football Coach, Wilford Brimley, will renew his role as spokesman for Quaker Oats Cereal. Brimley previously held the position of spokesman for the cereal back when he was better known for his role on the hit television show “Our House.” It wasn’t long after he accepted the position of Head Coach of Football at Purdue that the Quaker Oats brand decided to sever ties with Brimley. However, the recent diet craze involving low or no-carb foods struck the cereal sector quite hard, and the Quaker Oat’s brand is desperate for marketing exposure. Having seen the massive popularity of the Notre Dame themed boxes of General Mills’ Wheaties, the Quaker Oats brand decided to follow suit.

“We really have no choice. It was Brimley or the guy that played the Karate Kid. Have you seen him? He was on an episode of Entourage recently. Looked like someone took a crowbar to his teeth, and that nasally thing he does with his voice just doesn’t work when the kid’s 45,” said Quaker Oats marketing executive Sheila Vulongtime. “And besides, Purdue’s done some great things in its rich history of football. Remember that one time that they beat Notre Dame at Notre Dame? When was that? Last year, right? No. No. That’s when Weis kicked their asses up and down the field. 2004? Yeah. And they had that QB, Orton. What ever happened to him? They really thought he’d win the Heisman. Anyway, must’ve been a big year because they made rings to commemorate it and everything. And besides, Purdue is close to Notre Dame. It’s at least in the same state and all. That counts for something. And they play Notre Dame a lot, so at least once a year the country will watch a Purdue football game.”

While there are no plans to replace the image of a Quaker with images of Brimley on their boxes, Quaker Oats has already begun to print full-page ads in newspapers serving markets that will identify with Brimley and Purdue University, “Right now we’ve already got papers in Purdue, Fort Wayne, and Kokomo running our ads. This should be a big campaign for us,” said Vulongtime.

Editor’s Note: Shelia Vulongtime could not be reached for further comment after the initial printing of this story. She is no longer with the Quaker Oats brand or Pepsi Corporation. Calls to Pepsi Corporation were not returned.

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