• Ad Age, Wednesday, March 4, 2009 11 AM

Yesterday, we reported on toy makers bringing back brands from yesteryear; today we have a story on retro packaging. (If marketers really want to satisfy our craving for nostalgia, they'll figure out a way to restore the Dow to 14,000.)

General Mills has given Target a month-long exclusive on old-fashioned box designs for some of its best-selling cereals -- Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs and Trix, Emily Bryson York reports. The designs were taken from GM's archives and given minor tweaks, such as updated product shots. It's also offering deals on T-shirts with the old designs at cerealwear.com.

Dan Ochwat, editor of Shopper Marketing Magazine, says GM and Target are likely looking for a short spike in business because the promotional window -- from Feb. 15 through March 21 -- is so small. But exclusive deals have cachet. "That, in these times, is how you strike gold," avers Ochwat.

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