A study examined the knowledge of and attitudes toward nutrition in general and specifically toward cold breakfast cereals and cereal advertising with different creative appeals. Subjects, 117 undergraduate university students, completed a questionnaire about their use of cold breakfast cereal and their sources of information about nutrition. After reading advertising copy for four fictitious cereals, subjects rated as most favorable the cereal employing a "taste" appeal, followed by a cereal with a "health" appeal, which used language suggesting a link between eating the cereal and prevention of certain kinds of cancer. Rated less favorably were cereals with a "fiber" appeal and a "natural ingredients" appeal. The advertising copy for the "taste" appeal cereal was also rated most informative and important, though the "health" cereal advertisement was judged most believable and true. Respondents who indicated Bran-Fiber cereals as their favorites scored significantly higher than other cereal eaters on tests of general nutrition knowledge, general nutrition concern, and cereal nutrition concern. Subjects rated nutrition labeling on cereal boxes as their most important source of cereal nutrition information. The results suggest that the study be administered to different age groups to obtain information on evaluation of advertising content and nutrition knowledge for groups at other stages of formulation of dietary habits. (HTH)