General Mills : The shoes that show off our cereal

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Three of our popular cereals are out of the box and bowl.

In a partnership with Nike and basketball star Kyrie Irving, the Nike Kyrie 4 'Cereal Pack' includes shoes inspired by Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Kix.

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And you can get your feet on them, August 11, when they go on sale via the Nike SNKRS app, Nike.com, or at select House of Hoops and Foot Locker locations in the U.S.

Irving revealed the three shoes in July, on Instagram, and that started people talking (and that picked up again, when they first went on sale last weekend in an early release. More on that in a moment).

With so much about the sneakers being shared online we wanted to provide some perspective on how they came to be.

It really starts with a simple insight: A lot of people love cereal and basketball shoes.

'The passion and obsession that some people have for cereal is actually fairly similar to the passion and obsession that we see in the sneaker head community for sneakers,' says Taylor Gessell, a marketing communications assistant manager in Partnerships at General Mills. 'There is a fandom culture around both, so this was a great opportunity to bring two extremely passionate groups together.'

Our teams saw that firsthand when we first collaborated with Irving and Nike on a limited release of a Wheaties-inspired Nike Kyrie 4, after we announced Irving would be on the Wheaties box (with 'Uncle Drew') in May.

'We launched the Wheaties sneaker by sending it to 100 influencers and the biggest question we heard from consumers was, 'Where can I buy a pair?!',' Gessell says. 'So we connected with Nike again on the idea of doing a larger collaboration involving other cereals. We knew that Kyrie had an affinity for cereal, so it felt like an amazing fit.'

Irving was even involved in the planning and design.

'Kyrie's team and Nike have been unbelievable partners. From bringing us the idea, to producing incredible designs, this has been a top-notch partnership. Kyrie and team were the masterminds behind which cereal brands they wanted to pursue for this collaboration. They then took elements and details of our brands and reimagined them into sneakers in a very 'Kyrie' way that has impeccable attention to detail,' says Gessell.

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All three shoes in the 'Cereal Pack' have the logo for each cereal on the tongue, along with colors and design elements tied to the shapes and texture of the cereal. And, on the back of one shoe in each pair is something we really like - our familiar 'G' logo.

The Kyrie 4 Lucky Charms

Nike calls the Kyrie 4 Lucky Charms shoe, 'Magically Kyrie-Licious.'

A closer look at the colorful shoe reveals it even has marshmallow shapes arranged on the sides.

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The sole features more bright colors, in the brand's rainbow theme.

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Nike's SNKRS app description says: 'The shoe's bright crimson color blocking nods directly to the branding and design of the signature Lucky Charms box, making Kyrie's latest kicks a true tribute to the leprechaun-endorsed classic.'

The Kyrie 4 Cinnamon Toast Crunch

The Kyrie 4 Cinnamon Toast Crunch shoe resembles its box, with a metallic gold coin and white color blocking.

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But it's the cinnamon-inspired swirl on the sides that really catches your eye on the CTC shoe.

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The Kyrie 4 Kix

Nike says the Kyrie 4 Kix is 'Kyrie-Tested. Kyrie-Approved!'

The Kix shoe's 'bold amarillo and blue color blocking' is a nod to the look and design of the familiar Kix box.

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It even appears like the familiar Kix 'puff' is emerging from the sides of the shoe.

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Making cereal part of the design

The inside of each shoe also features a cereal look.

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'The three designs are unreal! There are details of our brands sewn into every inch of the shoes, from the cinnamon swirl, to the iconic marshmallows, Nike has totally nailed the essence of each cereal brand,' adds Gessell. 'It has been incredible to see these come to life starting from a simple sketch to a physical shoe.'

Pre-launch sale

Judging by the reaction to the shoes sold in the pre-launch last weekend - at two pop-up stores in New York City and Los Angeles, and a mobile 'House of Hoops' truck from Foot Locker - the three shoes will likely go fast on August 11.

Last Saturday, Nike's SNKRS app geo-fenced a 'SNKRS Stash' in New York and Los Angeles. That meant that app users in those locations received a notification that the shoes were available for early purchase and given a 360-degree photo of the location where Nike had 'stashed' the shoes.

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It was then up to people to find the location and unlock a code to purchase. Nike even placed the shoes in specially-designed cereal boxes and grocery displays.

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Gessell was in New York City to see it firsthand.

'It took five minutes within the shoes going live for people to find the location, and the shoes sold out in 30 minutes!' she says.

Nike also partnered with Game Seven to bring Foot Locker's House of Hoops truck to Rucker Park for Nike's 'NY vs. NY' street ball tournament in Harlem.

The shoes were sold from the truck, and tournament goers also were served cereal from 'Kyrie's Cereal Bar.'[Attachment]

The top two teams in the tournament were even outfitted in the Kix and Lucky Charms Kyrie 4's for the championship game.

'It was crazy to see our shoes on the court for the first time, they looked amazing,' Gessell says.

Irving even made a surprise appearance. He stopped by the truck to check out his shoes and then stayed to watch the championship game courtside.[Attachment]

Once again, the shoes will be available August 11, through the Nike SNKRS app, Nike.com or at select House of Hoops and Foot Locker locations in the U.S.

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