‘You Can Just Walk Around and Nibble On It?’ CNN Anchors Befuddled by Report Pop-Tarts Bowl Will Have Edible Mascot
CNN News Central anchors Jessica Dean and Boris Sanchez reacted with bemusement to a report that the college football bowl game sponsored by Pop-Tarts would have an edible mascot — and offered a suggestion that the CNN studios needed something similar.
Sports anchor Andy Scholes provided an update on some of the upcoming games, which include the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Wednesday evening and the Pop-Tarts Bowl between NC State and Kansas State in Orlando, Florida on Thursday.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl will have what Scholes declared to be possibly “the coolest trophy ever,” with two slots like a toaster inside the football and actual Pop-Tarts in the “toaster.”
“And, Boris and Jessica, the mascot for this game is going to be a giant Pop-Tart that just runs around,” said a clearly excited Scholes. “And get this: the winning team gets to eat it! How that’s going to work with it being a real live mascot, I don’t know, but I sure can’t wait to see.”
“Wait a minute, excuse me!” said Dean as her co-anchor Sanchez asked, “An edible mascot?”
“You’re telling me you can just walk around and nibble on it?” asked Dean.
“I guess so,” replied Sanchez, and added, “We should have a mascot like that here at CNN News Central — maybe not a Pop-Tart but like a brownie?”
“OK, we’ll look into that,” agreed Dean. “Maybe for 2024.”
“Something to pick us up in the afternoon,” said Sanchez.
“Well, it’s going to be a long year, everyone, but we’ll have a brownie walking around,” joked Dean as the two laughed before handing off to The Lead with Jake Tapper.
The Tampa Bay Times interviewed Heidi Ray, the Pop-Tarts senior director of marketing, to get more information about what’s being billed as the first-ever edible mascot, and Ray offered reassurance that “Pop-Tarts is following food safety protocols and guidelines when developing the Edible Mascot for the Pop-Tarts Bowl” and said that the flavor would be announced on Thursday on ESPN and on the official social media accounts for Pop-Tarts and the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
There does seem to be a bit of a bait-and-switch game going on, however: an official with the Pop-Tarts Bowl told The Athletic that during the game, the mascot would be in “a traditional mascot costume made from fabric and other non-edible materials that a person will wear,” and “[t]he edible mascot will only be revealed after the game ends.”
“No humans will be harmed in the enjoyment of the Pop-Tarts edible mascot,” the Pop-Tarts rep emphasized.
Watch above via CNN.
