Will Nastia Liukin Make Kids Eat Their Wheaties?

General Mills announced today that gold medal gymnast Nastia Liukin and gold medal decathlete Bryan Clay will grace its famous Wheaties boxes in a couple of weeks.

It is the "Breakfast of Champions," of course, but who is eating it these days? To be honest, the only reason why I ever bought a Wheaties box is as a collector's item. And despite being extremely influenced as a kid by the endorsements of athletes, the motto or the athlete on the box never convinced me to eat a single bowl.

The folks at General Mills who manage the Wheaties brand still think it's worth it to associate the cereal with athletes -- even though it's worth noting that they no longer pay to officially sponsor to the United States Olympic Team.

That tab was picked up by their competitor Kellogg's, which is putting Michael Phelps on its Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes.

So is the Wheaties strategy still working? Do athletes help sell cereal? Let's put it up for a vote: Take our poll, at left.

Michael Phelps

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