BEVERLY — Beverly comedian Pat McGann joked Friday that he persevered through a new television commercial for Kellogg's Cinnamon Frosted Flakes, despite being allergic to cats.
McGann plays the role of hungry fan beside Tony the Tiger and a girl dressed in an orange hooded sweatshirt with tiger stripes. It's McGann's first national television commercial.
"Tastes like victory, T. Tastes like victory," McGann tells the animated breakfast cereal mascot.
McGann said he received the role after a brief appearance "Chicago P.D." He played a homeowner who witnessed a crime in the television episode last year and said the same agency that landed him that spot has been working to get him into commercials, too.
"I've heard from people who have seen [the commercial] on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network," McGann said. "It's completely different than stand-up."
McGann credited the child actress who starred beside him in the ad for his on-camera success and said he's actually more comfortable performing for a large crowd than in front of a camera.
He said the commercial took a full day to film in November. A home in suburban Deerfield is used as the backdrop and as luck would have it, McGann realized he had worked for the homeowner's father briefly in the past.
McGann had filed paperwork for the Downtown attorney during the summer, and said the homeowner was shocked to return home and recognize someone in the cast.
"I was like, wait a minute, I know these people," said McGann, who had recognized people in the photos throughout the house.
According to Kellogg's, the new cinnamon cereal comes in response to requests from Frosted Flakes fans and was one of more than 100 recipes that were considered before settling on a final flavor combination.
The company first explored a traditional "dusting" application, but received feedback during taste tests that the cinnamon washed off with the addition of milk. Instead, creators enveloped the cinnamon within a coating designed to create a "frosted" cinnamon flake, according to Kellogg's press release.
"Cinnamon ranks as the top flavor request among Frosted Flakes lovers, so this innovation made perfect sense," said Joanna Grennes, a director of research and development for Kellogg's in a written statement.
The new cereal was quietly launched in November along with more than 50 other new products from Kellogg's. A wider rollout of Cinnamon Frosted Flakes began this month, the company's announcement said.
The original Frosted Flakes debuted in 1952 as Sugar Frosted Flakes. The word "sugar" was dropped in 1983.
As for McGann, he plans to continue to audition for commercials and other acting roles, particularly those filmed close to home.
"I would love to do more. There are opportunities in Chicago, and I'm just trying to capitalize on all of them," he said.
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