Leon is active as “Seltix” on YouTube and Twitch. Like many other influencers, he has now launched his own product. To stand out from the crowd, he came up with something special: cornflakes with trading cards from other content creators – but he didn’t ask one for permission.
What kind of product is this? As Seltix explains in a video sponsored by e-commerce site Shopify, he received an offer to develop a joint product with the spice manufacturer mykraut. Initially, an iced tea was supposed to be discussed, but Seltix had concerns.
Several other influencers already have their own iced tea, he wanted something more individual. So he ultimately decided to bring out his own cornflakes. The “Seltiz” are said to be inspired by the American breakfast cereal Lucky Charms.
In Seltix’s version, the breakfast flakes were replaced with cornflakes that are supposed to resemble the colorful Froot Loops from Kellogs. The Froot Loops would go perfectly with the marshmallows that give the Lucky Charms their name.
Seltix advertises with influencer trading cards
How did Seltix promote the product? The self-proclaimed goal of the content creator is to offer his cornflakes not only online but also to place his product in supermarkets like Edeka and Rewe. For that, the cereals must first sell – so Seltix came up with a special strategy.
The design of the Seltiz is kept in a retro comic style. Accordingly, there were also supposed to be action figures as collectible inserts in every package. They were probably too expensive in the end, which is why Seltix instead included trading cards.
What kind of trading cards were those? The trading cards were supposed to feature well-known YouTubers and Twitch streamers, but reinterpreted as superheroes in the classic comic style. Included are Seltix himself, Unge, CanBroke, Rewinside, and Trymacs.
Seltix explained that he would have liked to have sizes like EliasN97 and MontanaBlack included as well, but it was too complicated to design cards for everyone. The two are among the largest Twitch streamers in Germany.
According to Seltix, at least the influencers he selected agreed to the use of their name and appearance – except for one. He couldn’t reach Trymacs, Seltix says. He joked: “If you see this, please don’t sue me.”
The strategy paid off: within just 5 hours, the Seltiz sold out.
Trymacs’s fans seemed to spam the streamer so much that on December 8th, he released a reaction to Seltix’s video.
Trymacs will probably not be a fan
How did Trymacs react? When Trymacs discovered his trading card, he quickly realized why his viewers wanted a reaction from him. In fact, the streamer did not seem particularly enthusiastic: it is already very difficult, says Trymacs. Companies would repeatedly use him without permission for advertising purposes.
Seltix’s request not to sue him made Trymacs laugh. He jokes that he could at least recover the warning of €500,000 from Stefan Raab. However, he then reassures: it is okay for now.
Trymacs appreciates that Seltix apparently has no profit intention with his product, the YouTuber wants to sell the cornflakes at cost price, but his partner mykraut is supposed to receive a share.
However, this should not be a free ticket for other companies to use him for advertising purposes. He has had many problems with this, says Trymacs. Companies have even used clips of him without permission to promote a product.
What does Trymacs think of the product now? Trymacs announced that he will follow Seltix’s project and is curious whether the YouTuber will actually manage to get into stores. That would be “really hardcore.”
However, Trymacs can’t really deal with the cornflakes: he doesn’t like Froot Loops at all, hates marshmallows, and is also lactose intolerant. The Seltiz probably won’t end up on Trymacs’s breakfast table. Nevertheless, it’s nice that he receives a package as the depicted influencer.
