I saw this Frosted Flakes ad called “Morning Ritual” for the first time the other day. In the commercial, a dad gently wakes his tween daughter at 4:45 am. “It’s time,” he says. The girl excitedly throws off the covers to reveal the soccer jersey she wore to bed. Her dad is wearing the same shirt. Dad, daughter and Tony the Tiger move silently through the kitchen, assembling cereal ingredients. When they arrive at the living room couch, Tony turns on the TV for the start of a soccer match. Dad and daughter bond over bowls of awful cereal then celebrate when their team scores.

This family probably lives in either the Pacific or Mountain Time Zone where EPL games would start at 5 am.  They are wearing a modified sort-of AC Milan jersey so maybe they’re fans of Serie A, which also has matches at 5 am PST or MST.  Either way, it’s more reasonable here on the East Coast where games don’t usually start before 8 am. Then again, the family could be East Coasters who support an Eastern European or Russian club. They might have a special DirecTV package that enables them to watch Zenit St. Petersburg or Besiktas or something.

The Frosted Flakes commercial is a little corny (pun intended), but it certainly captures the experience of the American soccer fan rising early on a weekend morning to catch the English Premier League on NBC Sports or, to a lesser extent, La Liga or Serie A on BeIN.

Morning soccer has undoubtedly replaced cartoons and obnoxious Sportscenter reruns as required weekend viewing for tons of American kids. The Kellogg’s ad team has recognized a phenomenon that all of us soccer fans can relate to.

Can you think of any other ads that capture such an authentically American soccer experience?