Kellogg Tests Shorter, Fatter Cereal Boxes

New Design Hold Same Amount of Food but Saves Space, Materials
From Advertising Age Online

This article is about Kellogg's launch of shorter, fatter cereal boxes. The new design is currently being tested in Detroit and is scheduled to stay on the shelves for the next six months before any decisions are made on a nationwide debut. The boxes will hold the same amount of food, but will use less materials (8% decrease) and will consume less space on the shelf. This is the company's biggest box tweak in nearly 60 years.

While I definitely agree with the idea and concept of decreasing the use of materials, I can't help but correlate the new short, fat box with the ever-pressing issue of obesity in our country. I'm not sure if it's just because it's fresh on my mind from talking about overconsumption in graphic design, but it's what I first thought of when reading the article. I especially notice it when seeing the picture of the current box design as it sits next to the test box. It says a lot more about the shift in our culture than we think it does.