Cheerios recently tried to make the most of social media as a PR tool by doing what everyone else was already doing: designing Facebook apps to encourage its hundreds of thousands of fans to interact with the brand.

Unfortunately, that plan blew up in the face of parent company General Mills. Cheerios attempted to gain the invisible, invaluable thing we call “brand loyalty” by presenting fans with an app that allowed them to write about “what Cheerios means to me” in the cereal’s trademark font. But the brand’s social team quickly discovered that many Facebook users don’t approve of General Mills’s relationship with genetically modified foods—or its political advocacy on the subject.

The activists’ quick storming of the forum forced Cheerios to kill the app after just one day. Click through for the backstory.

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What do the phrases “organic” and “all-natural” mean to you as a consumer? Does the fact that Sun Chips have that great “whole grain taste” make you more likely to eat them in the interest of your own health?

While the vast majority of consumers want to eat well, a recent survey conducted by iModerate Research Technologies confirms the fact that most don’t have enough information to make truly educated decisions regarding the food they buy—and that leaves them more vulnerable to dubious claims made by marketing teams and ad agencies.

In the eyes of the law, these questionable taglines might not mean much, and they may even qualify as “misleading.” But do they amount to bad PR practices or grounds for lawsuits? According to a recent story in The New York Times, a group of very successful litigators thinks they do—and they plan to raise a big stink about it.

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Ogilvy has been chosen as AOR for NASCAR, which aims to extend its brand into a more diversified and younger demographic. After a four-month pitch process, Ogilvy edged out the competition and will initiate the brand extension at the Daytona 500 in February 2013, the race’s 55th anniversary.

The climate in the industry remains highly competitive. Ogilvy’s chairman-CEO for North America explained why landing NASCAR signals an important acquisition for the company. “We firmly believe that Nascar is a valuable tool in the marketing mix and a place where big brands get high return on investment. We couldn’t be more proud to add the sport to our portfolio of global brands.” [via]

It’s all about moms. 9 Story Entertainment has selected Child’s Play Communications to lead an outreach campaign leveraging social media and the power of moms. The effort aims to promote the animated TV series Almost Naked Animals and related new lines of licensed products. To increase brand awareness Child’s Play will also partner with parenting publications in the US.

Vince Commisso, president and CEO of 9 Story Entertainment said, “We know the broad family appeal of Almost Naked Animals will resonate with moms, and the lovable characters make for fun product extensions. Child’s Play Communications has an excellent track record for reaching this important audience.” Read more

General Mills is promoting its new Fiber One brownies with a video starring the pot-loving duo of Cheech & Chong. You think you’re getting “magic brownies” but they’re really just made with fiber. That is both clever and disappointing.

A General Mills spokesperson tells the Pioneer Press that the company isn’t really doing much to promote the video besides pushing it out on Facebook and placing a few banner ads. (It’s also on YouTube.)

“We’re kind of throwing it out there, and seeing the power of viral,” said Lisa Tomassen. No media outreach? Good luck with that.

Left to right: Pat Mitchell, President and CEO, The Paley Center for Media; Debora Spar, President, Barnard College; Tina Brown, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Beast; Lauren Zalaznick, President, NBCU Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks; Mark Addicks, Chief Marketing Officer, General Mills; Kim Brink, Executive Director, Advertising and Sales Promotion, Cadillac; Donna Speciale, President of Investment and Activation, MediaVest USA.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker (who just confirmed that he will be leaving the company) kicked off this morning’s Women@NBCU annual Power of the Purse breakfast with a brief chat about the purchasing power of women and the increased effort marketers should be making to reach them.

“The power of the purse is so self-evident,” she said. However, to get women to purchase your products, you need to communicate with them.

“PR has always been two-way,” she continued. All relationships are doomed “when one side doesn’t feel they’re being communicated with.”

The conversation was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Pat Mitchell, president of the Paley Center for Media.  She was joined on stage by a panel that included Tina Brown, founder and editor-in-chief at The Daily Beast; Donna Speciale, president of investment and activation at Mediavest; and Mark Addicks, CMO of General Mills. Additional comments and video after the jump. Read more