Released on Netflix on May 3, 2024, Unfrosted is a farcical historical biography that charts the rise of Kellogg’s Pop-Tart breakfast pastry in the 1960s. Directed by and starring Jerry Seinfeld, the amusing love letter to breakfast cereal wars during the American space race plays like a Saturday Night Live sketch comedy movie loaded with hilarious cameos, sight-gags, one-liners, and parodies of classic TV shows.

For example, when Kellogg’s plans to market its new Pop-Tart product, the company seeks advice from the top ad agency in New York. The encounter puts the Kellogg’s representative in contact with none other than Mad Men’s Don Draper (John Hamm) and his motor-mouthed boss, Roger Sterling (John Slattery). The meeting doesn’t go as planned, prompting Kellogg to seek advertisements elsewhere. Yet, despite being off the air for nearly 10 years, Hamm and Slattery fit right back into their iconic roles and deliver arguably the funniest moment in Unfrosted via a quasi-Mad Men short film.

Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story 3/5 Release Date May 3, 2024 Cast Rachael Harris , Melissa McCarthy , Hugh Grant , James Marsden , Christian Slater , Dan Levy , Jerry Seinfeld , Maria Bakalova , amy schumer , Bill Burr , Max Greenfield , Fred Armisen , Jack McBrayer

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What Is Unfrosted About?

Co-written, starring, and directed by Jerry Seinfeld, Unfrosted is a cartoonish period comedy beginning in 1963 in Michigan. Just as the international space race heats up between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, so does an intense war for supremacy among cereal brands Kellogg’s and Post. Eager to create a new breakfast that doesn’t require milk, Kellogg’s lead developer, Bob Cabana (Seinfeld), recounts how the Pop-Tart was formed and what led to its lasting success.

Set during the heightened fears and paranoia of the Cold War, Kellogg’s becomes embroiled in a competitive battle with the five big cereal families, which are depicted as powerful mafia gangs fighting against the corruption of Big Milk. With Kellogg’s, Post, General Mills, Quaker, and Ralston Purina all looking to corner the market, Cabana cuts a deal with a Puerto Rican sugar smuggler, El Sucre (Felix Solis), to put the others out of business.

When professional “taste pilot” Steve Schwinn (Jack McBrayer) dies in an explosion while testing the Pop-Tart’s prototype, Kellogg’s requires damage control to fix their public image. The brand struggles with a marketing campaign to promote Pop-Tart, prompting a meeting with the cut-throat Manhattan ad agency Sterling Cooper from AMC’s hit drama Mad Men.

The Mad Man Pitch in Unfrosted
Netflix

Before coming up with “Pop-Tart” to brand its new milkless cereal pastry, Cabana and Edsel Kellogg III (Jim Gaffigan) meet with the Sterling Cooper ad agency in Michigan. As soon as Don Draper shows his face, viewers instantly know the two sides are a terrible fit and the meeting will not go as planned. In Mad Men, Don Draper and his colleagues are known for creating sexy, seductive advertisements for adult products like cigarettes, alcohol, perfume, expensive luxury cars, etc.

Staying on brand, Draper opens his pitch meeting by calling Kellogg’s a family company that signifies “the warm embrace of home” before launching into a wildly lewd and inappropriate suggestion. Draper unveils a marketing poster that features a sensual woman in a blue dress holding a steaming Pop-Tart. Draper uncovers the ad and declares, “I give you the Jelle Jolie by Martine Margeaux.” Kellogg III immediately pushes back and states, “You know we’re a kids’ cereal company, right?”

As soon as Kellogg III voices doubt about the ad in the Netflix original movie, Draper and Sterling tag-team for a relentlessly mean-spirited tirade that instantly shifts the tone and tenor from Unfrosted’s silly farce to Mad Men’s cut-throat corporate world.

Related The True Story Behind Jerry Seinfeld’s (Mostly Untrue) Unfrosted Pop-Tart Movie Jerry Seinfeld’s latest tackles the popular breakfast treat the Pop-Tart, but the real story behind its creation is much different.

Draper insults Kellogg’s limited scope of marketing to children, with Sterling stating “I’ve been in your town for six hours, you know what I see? Dead trees and sad, lonely women.” The poetic non-sequitur is perfectly on-brand for Sterling and Mad Men, yet makes no sense in the world of Unfrosted. Knowing as much, Cabana wonders, “Who notices dead trees” before Sterling randomly yells to a misnamed Bob, “Shut up, Herman.”

The Clash of Mad Men & Unfrosted Forms a New Tone
Netflix

Draper doubles down on his sexy Pop-Tart pitch, giving Kellogg’s the option to be “Raisin Bran and irrelevant or provocative and revolutionary.” He introduces an even racier chocolate Pop-Tart ad via Jelle Jolie Noir and the package-free Jelle Jolie Sensual, which only makes Kellogg and Cabana more uncomfortable and leads to more awkward laughter.

The best part of the mismatched exchange between the two sides comes when Kellogg asks for time to consider the deal. Draper insolently pushes back, aggressively stating, “I’d say yes, but I don’t think thinking is your strong suit. Tell you what, I’ll be retired on a bluff overlooking Stinson Beach while you’re still genuflecting before the God of mediocrity.”

Related Mad Men: The 20 Best Episodes of the Series, Ranked Check out our list of the 20 best episodes of Mad Men.

The whole point of poking fun at Mad Men’s coarse and callous behavior is made when Cabana calmly turns to Kellogg and asks, “Why are they so mean, it’s just advertising,” which draws another irate and nonsensical response from Draper (Hamm’s career-defining performance). The starkly opposed tonal collision of the two individual entities gives Unfrosted’s Mad Men satire arguably the most rewatchable moment. Unfrosted pokes fun at the cruel yet florid rapid-fire quips and quotes that made Mad Men unique.

Meanwhile, Mad Men’s Draper and Sterling also ridicule Kellogg’s for being a safe, risk-averse family-friendly company at a time in America when bold inventions were made. The two sides walk away knowing they’re not a professional match. It’s a brilliantly conceived comedy bit that plays to the strengths of the comedians involved while underscoring the economic zeitgeist of the 1960s.

Is the Scene Canon for Mad Men?
AMC

While there is no official confirmation from the powers that be that this Unfrosted scene is Mad Men canon, it’s clear that it was very intentionally referencing the original series. Some moments that link the movie and show include Hamm’s character referring to his advertising counterpart as Roger, the name of Slattery’s character in Mad Men. The timelines also work together, with both being set in the early 1960s. Moreover, the line “swim the English Channel and drown in champagne” is drawn from Mad Men.

Whether Hamm and Slattery’s appearance as advertising executives in Unfrosted is considered canon for Mad Men or not, the scene is a welcome return for fans of the show. Not only is the scene a treat for dedicated Mad Men fans, but it’s also the best part of a middle-of-the-road movie. It shows that Hamm still has what it takes to command an audience’s attention — even in a tiny cameo role. Stream on Netflix.