Why is ad featuring multiracial family causing stir?
(CNN) - The leader of the free world is the child of one black parent and one white parent. The number of Americans who identify as "mixed race" is on the rise. And this year marks the 46th anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision, which made interracial marriage legal in the United States.
So why is a Cheerios ad featuring a multiracial family causing a stir?
The commercial features a curly-haired brown girl inquiring of her Caucasian mother and African-American father about Cheerios' healthy attributes.
"Mom, Dad told me that Cheerios was good for your heart. Is that true?" she asks in the commercial, titled "Just Checking."
Adweek reports that YouTube comments made "references to Nazis, 'troglodytes' and 'racial genocide' " before they were disabled.
As of Friday, most of the comments were supportive on the Cheerios Facebook page, like this one:
Cheerios,
I just saw your commercial representing a beautiful mixed family, and I am appalled that hateful people are in such a frenzy over what is a modern family structure. I applaud you and your efforts to acknowledge families with an untraditional structure, and there needs to be more mixed race, minority, adoptive & non-heteronormative families represented in media. Thank you again, and even though I do not eat cereal (my brother loves Cheerios BTW) you can be sure that whatever future child I am blessed with, may probably be mixed heritage, and will be enjoying your product.
But earlier in the week, comments were not as thoughtful. The Huffington Post reported on the vile nature of some responses, like this one:
More like single parent in the making. Black dad will dip out soon.
Reddit featured a link to the commercial on its homepage Thursday, also drawing a range of responses.
Granted, the comments section of the Internet is rarely a reliable space for reflective or thoughtful discourse on race in America.
But the range of reactions to an ad that incidentally highlights a multiracial family might be the start of a discussion on how the American family is seen and portrayed.
What do you think: Is the commercial long overdue or much ado about nothing?
About In America
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
Black in America
iReport
That is actually quite adorable and looks exactly like something one of my 3 daughters would have done.
As the product of a mixed marriage, I am pleased to finally see something that represents me on television. There isn't a lot of non-traditional family structure in media, at all, and this was gratifying. One thing that surprised me was in the recent GI Joe movie, Dwayne Johnson had two daughters who were black. The absence of commentary on that, and the overwhelmingly positive response about the Cheerios commercial, here, gives me hope for the future of race relations in America.
Sorry, this was a reply to Shell below.
I've been married for 26 years to a black man and I am white. We have two kids age 23 and 17. This is and should be a part of everyday life. It's just too bad that hatred is also a part of everyday life. You can't fix stupid!
That's nothing to brag about.
No you can't. Southersuga made your point.LOL
love oats and wouldn't mind it get loads of free publicity.
Yawwwwwwn. Take note of "the comments section of the Internet is rarely a reliable space for reflective or thoughtful discourse on race in America", change "race in America" to "any issue of importance" (say I with lush irony) and we get the most useful comment from this article.
Why is it when a black man makes a racist comment about white women (Charles Ramsey,~7 May2013), it is applauded by many posters as true and not addressed by media as a problem, but racist comments about this ad received significant media coverage? We will not overcome racism until racist views of racism are gone in media and folks (... yeah, awkward sentence – I had to read that sentence twice too... 🙂
It would appear that "all men are created equal" has not yet been achieved. What a pity. People are people.
Overdue. AND much ado about nothing.
Totally agree. Anyone who has a problem with a racially mixed family simply b/c they are a racially mixed family, has much deeper problems. But it seems even TV stations are having problems with this since I've seen this ad w/o the Dad being covered with Cheerios at the end. Sad.
What is the big fuss, it is normal in south africa
So is crime and poverty.
Thomas Jefferson even has mixed descendants. The problem is that there are few people who have a problem with it in private, but they don't want their "friends" to think less of them. The reality is that most people today are mixed from somewhere in there past. DNA tests have already proven that point. Get on board America. This is one train that will roll.
Pffftt. What dsilviano said. What a beautiful family image.
This ad features a beautiful child who is asking her mother a thoughtful question. I'm stunned that anyone in our great country is offended by this ad. I was hoping most Americans were intelligent enough to be fair minded and realize all races are of equal value. Perhaps there are more ignorant people here then I thought. I've been a nurse for 40 years and guess what- we are all the same. As long as you are a good hard working member of society why does color matter ? Kudos to Cheerios !
My wife said that any child old enough to actually formulate that question would be old enough to know that it needed to be eaten, not poured on the heart... even so, I thought it was a cute ad.
These relationships are strange – regardless of commonality. Common sense should always be priority when establishing relationships particularly when reproduction is involved. Thank God for red birds and other animals that mate with their own kind. Humans should be smarter than animals and see the beauty of each race ENOUGH so to do all that it can to help that race of people continue and reproduce without interruption or interference. Suggestively for their own race, the same – loving yourself enough and your own race to want to see it prosper and continue. Until you learn to love your own and others in the manner of "true" love vs under the spell of adulterated "lusts", this country will continue to become a primitive species. There is nothing NEW under the sun – this includes a new world, particularly one that condones and revels strange, sinister and awkward relationships to develop and re-produce. Wow – who said that!
This is an extremely interesting perspective. Thank you for sharing. And I'm a black woman married to a Samoan man.
Animals mate with their own kind because they are separate species and cannot mate with other species. Dogs are one species and can be bred to all kinds of physically different varieties. People also come in different varieties but are one species, so that mixing is quite natural, just like the red birds.
Strange, sinister relationships? You do indeed see the world strangely if you see two people who aren't identical to each other seeing the best in each other and wanting to share a life together as strange and sinister.
I loved the commercial. I laughed out loud! I wonder if there would have been as much flap it had been a white dad and black mom? That's been secretly acceptable for hundreds of years. Just ask Strom Thurmond's daughter, or Sarah Henning's descendants.
* Sally Henning's
TS, thanks for the correction! You're probably aware that the Jefferson family has disputed Sally Hemmings and Jefferson's children for decades. The public knows about it; the family is the last to accept what we all know to be true.
Sheesh. Saw the ad a bunch of times and didn't even notice. One day we as a species will stop being so petty, but I fear it won't be in my lifetime.
I didn't notice it either except to think she was really cute.
hear, hear
Much ado about nothing.....beautiful family....too much attention on those who wish to keep us in the dark ages.. Bravo Cheerios! Now get Monsanto out of your products, and all will be well!! 🙂
I have no issues with multiracial families, but do object to having sugared crap with no nutritive value sold as "food".
It's important to me as a black male that a national brand product made this sort of commercial. As these companies are focused on profit, not equality, it seems to me that this type of commercial is another sign that the bigots are losing. Also if you look around, black men are rarely seen on T.V. in a loving relationship with a white woman. How many black Bachelors have there been on the ABC series? America is still learning to be O.K. with this, we are not as evolved as you might think
A movement is afoot to crown Portland-based sportscaster Lamar Hurd as the first black Bachelor. Maybe he will be seen actually eating Cheerios, ya think? 🙂
I agree wholeheartedly with your assertion, thanks for advancing the dialogue in a constructive manner
It's about time that there are commercials that feature families that do not just feature a White family of a mother, father, son, and daughter! Families come in all colors and combinations of people. It's unbelievable that people will still make such negative comments over stuff like this in 2013. Kudos to Cheerios for thinking outside the box!
The only "box" that Cheerios is thinking about is the "bank box". I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with WHO is sitting at the table.
I agree. it is amazing and not in a good way.
Yawn. Why should I care if some people don't like this? How is that news?
I wouldn't really take youtube comments seriously. These ones were likely posted by a bunch of bored kids trying to get a rise out of someone.
Once again, the sorry state of our country. The fact that people on this board are arguing over this commercial is disgusting. For the record....
Financially, I am conservative/republican/whatever you want to call me. Yes, I happen to be white. My "first" ( yes, first ) was a longtime girlfriend who is black. My next girlfriend was white, and my serious girlfriend who met the parents is Hmong.
I only mention this because I have read
1) Conservatives blame the "terrible PC libs," and
2) Liberals claim that "teapartiers will hate this."
Must everything be politicized. If this relationship works out and I have half Romanian, Half-Hmong children, I think it would be awesome
Relax, sooner or later you might meet SOMEBODY that can stand you. Black, white, asian, you are a poster child for adopting mongrels and the SPCA wantsyou!
Either Ed is being sarcastic and supportive, or he read that I tend to be financially conservative, so he is jumping too concluisions, further proving my point.
Good job, Ed
Maybe it is time to set aside the labels. CONSERVATIVE and LIBERAL are one-dimensional words; people and their personalities have MANY more dimensions than one. No one word can or should define – or divide – people.
Unfortunately, it seems too many people are letting it define who they are, and in turn letting it be who they define others. Either way, it is a cycle that needs to be halted, else we be a 50/50 polarized nation
causing a stir? more like no one cares.. stop trying to create problems out of nowhere
The first time I saw this advertisement I knew it would generate racially-negative comments. Face it, there are many semi-literate people who often can't spell or use grammar correctly and who were raised in racist environments. Any who doubts this has only to read the online comments section of any major print or media outlet to discover a high percentage of those commenting a racist or bigoted against anyone who isn't born-Again Christian, Caucasian, or from the southern quarter of our nation. Every article abounds with racist, geographic or other slurs against anyone who's different. Unfortunately, that even extends to politics. We are a nation deeply divided and either a popular revolution against the government and its inability to govern and/or a civil war could (sad to say) be in our near future.
"People" in the south deserve it. I am embarrassed to call that part of the country "America".
Your remarks are more realistic than a nation believing that a group of mixed up people is going to save it. No thanks – a civil upheaval sounds a lot more practical.
Beautiful ad, beautiful reflection of our world.
Moved from North Jersey to Dover DE 18 months ago.
Noticed many more mixed families than we were used to.
After a few days we noticed that the only people staring was ourselves.
The acceptance was near universal here.
What a lovely thing it is.
When my daughter started making friends with mixed race kids a year ago, it kind of threw me a bit – I am not prejudiced, but it was beyond my life experience. We live in a small Midwest town that is at least 90% white, and for some reason she was drawn to kids that were... isolated, I think. Anyway, a year or so later, it just seems normal to me. I am just happy that my daughter has friends – reasonably well behaved friends, at that.
I think that the problem most people have with race is that it forces them beyond their comfort zone, beyond what they are familiar with. People are people, so once you know them you understand they are not different from you – it is just the first step that scares most people.
Great perspective Edwin,
Over 22 years ago, I (I'm black) brought my Samoan boyfriend home to SC to meet my family. Fortunately, they are very loving folks but they had many, many questions. No one (including me) had ever heard of Samoans or the island of America Samoa! LOL..We've been married for over 20 years and have two beautiful (very well-behaved) sons. Thanks for keeping an open mind and allowing yourself to step outside your comfort zone.
Amazing how little some people think of themselves. This country is literally drowning in sewage.
love it.
Can't figure what all the hoopla is about...guess it's because we were raised to see people as people not a skin color. I have 4 grandchildren, 2 are biracial, mom is white and dad is black as well as 2 biracial great-nieces, mom is black and dad is white. We are raising them all to see people for who they are. Guess it's working because one of my granddaughters told us the other day she is half Korean (her non-biological GrandPapa is Korean) because her favorite foods are Korean! Isn't it time to move on and PRACTICE the equality that was fought so hard for by our previous generations?
liked the commercial, don't care about their races, they are just MERICAN's
Sorry but have watched the commercial a few times, I do not see the mixed race....... all I see is the HUMAN RACE.
Really cute commercial too.
First of all...you cannot assume comments made by someone online represent the entire nation..these are simply trolls...who love to hide behind their computers and rip other people apart to make themselves feel better...so I'd really just consider the source...i think the majority of americans are accepting of mixed families..it's the modern family afterall.
To the people of ALL races, get over your ignorance, your fear and grow up!
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING!
A. Very, very few people actually care
B. There are far too many people who want to cause a stir on Internet postings, whether they care about it or not
.
Isn't this like, normal now?? Wasn't it a "shocking" thing in the 1980's??
P.S. I make TV commercials for a living. What Cheerios has done is make a somewhat
forgettable sitcom commercial a little more interesting. Bravo for that!
Long overdue. Good for the folks at Cheerios. Haven't seen the Kindle ad, but good on them as well. Families come in all shapes & sizes. I support them.
CUTE advertisement! People are serious idiots.
Are you serious? The Parents Television Council and Southern Baptist would be calling for an immediate boycott of Cheerios.
You yank have so many problems, that wasting time on this is just ridiculous. But just go on, you are on the way to 3 World status.
It all depends on where you live. I live in the upper midwest. It is rather nice here. One of our states is roughly the size of one of your European countries (or larger) And the culture changes quite a bit between areas. North Dakota is very different from New York, Just like Italy and Wales are very different from each other.
absolutely love this commercial!
People who get upset about such things and decry the deterioration of mankind will never see that the biggest problem they have to face is the one in the mirror every morning.
Long over due 🙂
My family owned slaves and that was the norm at the time. Those days are long gone but the revisionists continue to throw rocks at the past. We have "Projects" in every large city in the US to house the people who can be assimilated and pay their own way. So, what is the difference in Master with his plantation, taking care of his charges and the Fed, the new Masser, paying for the Plantation Projects? Blacks aren't white folks with dark skin, they are a different race with a different genectic makeup.
Just how thick can you get?
Actually the Feds do that quite well. We are all modern day slaves. Most just don't realize it. Slavery is and has always been morally wrong. Those who do it by manipulating our currency and our government for their benefit are only marginally better than those who did it by employing the whip.
Different genetic makeup? Could you please provide a source for that claim. It is my understanding that there is only one human genetic species (as opposed to say dogs or cats) and in that sense skin colour is a visual difference that has nothing to do with genes. Race is cultural and not genetic.
Jack,
If you live south of the old Mason Dixon line, there is a very high likelihood that you are of mixed blood and it's not that different in the north.
Yes, there are genetic differences – and more than just the amount of melatonin in people's skin. But the differences have little to do with culture, intelligence, personality or the other factors that determine how a person would choose to live their life.
"Advocacy" in the media is very common, and is also mostly not entirely accurate. "Mixed race" is a term used by the media to refer to black skinned Africans mating with white skinned Europeans. In reality, I would say that the majority of Americans in 2013 have multiple ethno-racial groups represebted in their "pedigrees". I would also say that the "media sterotype" of a black african man and a white european woman represented in this cheerios commercial is not the most common mix. Not that there's anything wrong with it. But I wish somebody would make a commercial with real people like my family. I have scottish, french, native american, african and east indian in my background. Most people think I look "cuban" or hispanic. my wife has french canadian, redneck and native american in hers. She looks like gweneth paltrow. My ex girlfriend's mother was Irish and her father was mexican. She was absolutely gorgeous, along with her four sisters from the same parents, who range from "Amos & Andy" to "Martin and Lewis". Or maybe "Amos & Lewis" Everybody's been having kids with everybody else in this country for generations. et over it.
Agreed – while there are certainly some parts of the country that seem to have difficulty understanding that we are all human beings, I think they are the minority. I think this issue only stays alive as long as we want it to. We need to stop worrying about changing the minds of people we can't influence and work with those we can.
Amen, Leon!
I get all of them Leon, but Redneck. Is that Irish or Mulungeon?
what's a mulungeon?
How come it's always a black guy/white girl relationship? It seems like 99/100 times I see some interracial arrangement on TV it's always this way. Aren't black girls attractive to white guys? Or, is something else going on?
It's because the black "guy" is seen more as the macho conqueror with his "trophy wife" as opposed to "what has the white guy conquered??", not that there is anything morally wrong with either scenario. The whole idea is to sell product and you (the company) will exploit any and all venues to do so. And THAT is what I have a problem with, not the interracial mix, whatever it may be. Think about who/what is going to be sitting at the breakfast table next.
I have seen plenty of black girl/white boy ads, but they are in publishing ads – magazines etc.
LOL...People seem to forget about the Jefferson's neighbors, Tom and Helen! I'm just saying...
Have you ever asked yourself why, when the race of a mixed race person like our President is mentioned in a favoriable light, that it is always the Afro-American features or quallities that are praised.
The new racism: not remembering the old racism and the disenfranchisement of black people in this country
Well, the white parentage of Obama is not all that unusual. After all, EVERY president before him had two white parents.
His mother is as much a part of his genetic makeup as his dad, but the unusual thing is that his dad was black. In his speeches he tends to credit his mom more than his dad, because she was there more. So... I think you are just confusing the fact that IT IS A BIG DEAL that a person with non-white ancestry became president with the idea that only one side of his ancestry is important to him or the media (it is not).
It stems from the "one-drop" rule in America. It was used to lable blacks as BLACKS and to ensure those blacks who looked white didn't mix with the white race. It also legally defined a person as black if they had ANY African ancestry. So when people ask why do blacks call themselves "African-American" I remark that it was not us, it has historically been driven by whites.
"I just shipped my pants," now thats an ad that caused a stir. CNN trying to cause a stir, failed. Maybe CNN is racist
Loved the Kindle ad with the man and his "husband". Love the Cheerio ad with that adorable little girl. Gonna eat my Cheerios while reading off a Kindle. Down with hate and intolerance.
"Let it be"
and who cares……….geesh
There is a place the racist will go, and it will not be pleasing. The sooner they repent for their ways the better.
The commercial is hilarious! Could have been played by any couple, but kudos for expanding the definition of a normal family.
The controversy is kind of sad.
Martin Luther King, Jr – who unfortunately did not get a chance to live a long life due to the criminal murderous actions of a bigot – said we should judge other people by the content of their character and not by skin color.
What Dr King advocated makes sense to me personally – it is a more fair way to judge others. Nobody should be stereotyped just because of their external appearance.
Good apples and rotten apples come in all colors – and the same is true with people.
Never judge how tasty an apple will be just by its color.
I am Asian Indian. I remember a few years ago, we had a Chinese woman who married into our family. It raised eyebrows initially, but now nobody cares. This Chinese woman is now an part of our family, and they have cute Indian-Chinese kids.
I honestly had not noticed the racial composition of the family until all the controversy erupted.
I had seen the commercial before.
There is no "controversy". A YouTube video got trolled by some tweens-n-teens from 4chan, and CNN decides that it's proof of continued racial discourse in America. The entire premise of this article is trolling, not racism.
Hear, hear!!!
Although the article acknowledges that the blogging section is a poor measure, it's the basis for the piece. Trolls will be trolls about any topic, just to cause a stir and get some attention for their pathetic peon lives.
.
I'd love to see the Dave Chapelle version of the Cheerios commercial.
I love how people in the comment section are falling all over themselves to be the loudest voice proclaiming how "Normal" a mixed-race couple is in their particular enlightened corner of the world (which is obviously more enlightened than where other people live)....yea, let me tell you something you're not going to like. I live in a small rural farming community in Indiana...the very definition of "Red State" (for those who choose to put a political spin on things). Mixed-Race couples are pretty darn "normal" around here to...contrary to popular belief, they don't get shunned to the back of restaurants or whispered about behind their backs. Now please, get over yourselves, and stop trying to participate in a race to see who can be the most "open minded".
Like you just did. and you thought you were better, when it turns out you're not. Ha
I don't think he was trying to say he was better, I think he was saying that where he's from, people don't really get worked up over it because it's normal.
And you're complete wrong...and missed the point by a mile. I was saying that all the Self-Righteous High-Horsing about how "tolerant" your own little corner of the world is (and thus implying that the rest of the world isn't as tolerant as yours) is a worthless argument because acceptance of bi-racial familes is not that rare...and other than some isolated places in the south, and in the inner-city ghettos, it is not "strange" or out of the ordinary...it's just two people getting together.
Hello?? Every video on YouTube has an inordinate amount of rude and distasteful comments below it, not just this one. Please CNN, don't make something out of nothing
Best comment 've read in a week.
What? You're telling me someone would say something mean on the internet? Say it isn't so...
Are we missing the point entirely that the commercial is freakin hilarious?! Who cares what color the family is. That is a darn good commercial and however they choose to represent the family itself should be a non issue. Get over it, other white people.
There sure are a lot of bigots and racist left in the US, makes me glad I'v moved to Europe. The main problem with all the bigots and racist in the US are as follows.
1) total lack of education( you are all stupid)
2) your radical churches teach you to hate.
3)Most of you are fat and sit on your sofas eating fast food and watching fox news
Face it you bigots the landscape of the US is changing and you are now the minority
More like single parent in the making. Black dad will dip out soon.
Some folks can't take the truth.
Psst, don't throw stones in your glass house, and get dressed in the basement.
no argument here.
It Amazes me that in this day and time we still see color. I don't see color, I see a person. And I know that I'm gonna get lots of replies from this comment, I don't care. Yes we all do have the right to our opinions. Actually I'm looking forward to the comments left with my statement. That way i can see who are the winners and losers. A mixed-race (as you call it) made a commercial, so what! So much racial crap! All the haters, racist (LOSERS). Come on you know who you are. You the ones who hide behind a screen. Not to worry folks because racist and haters only make up 18% of us out there but it seems worse because its these people who will comment the most.
White, black, brown, red, blue, green, and so on, these are colors, people are not. We are humans, that's it.
so now I wait to see who are the LOSERS or WINNERS. bet you I get more losers though. Prove me wrong America.
It aint about skin color, it is about culture. A culture that consists of single teen mothers. A culture that is about black teen crime. It is about knives and guns It is about drugs, food stamps and welfare as a way of life.. Stop the BS
But the cause of aspects of urban culture are not physically caused by skin color. Outside factors related to skin color may have caused some of the situation (lingering effects of the destruction of the black male role model and thereby the black family by Jim Crow laws, for example), but one's skin color does not automatically determine ones destiny.
Well said. As a white man married to twice to black woman covering 30 years we've been subject to many slurs just walking the streets. Even when I am not with my wife I am subject to the stereotyping and insults from racist losers. I remember an employee in the company I worked for go on a rant about how the (n word) in this country are destroying it the should all be sent back to Africa along with the a.i.d.s they brought here. This was two weeks before our company holiday party and when I introduced my wife to him I said this is Paul who thinks you should go back to Africa and take your a.i.d.s. virus with you. He got all defensive claiming I was wrong it is not what I said. I called two of the other guys over who heard it and they confirmed it. Two weeks later Paul quit
Wow, if there was ever a case of foot in mouth, that had to be it.
jb1963 I love you. Your wife is a very lucky woman. Your co-worker hopefully took a good long look in the mirror after that episode. Kudos. More people should have the courage to confront racism head on like you did. Bravo.
Awesome story, JB!!! Congrats to you and your wife. Wish I could have seen the look on Paul's face.
A rather one sided narrative. One only needs to look at the fatherless black households or STD rates among blacks to understand why some whites are uncomfortable with this. 47 percent of black women have genital herpes according to the CDC. With a culture of lethargios, poor etiquette, and misogyny, I find myself far more sympathetic to Latino, White, and Asian inter racial couples. Black culture is the least compatible from my experience.
"With a culture of lethargios, poor etiquette, and misogyny"
You seem to think this doesn't exist among other races. You only see the examples of poor Blacks acting out and you assume that this is ALL Blacks. You are no more educated than they are.
Hi, Mark!! (Im black and see how respectful I am?) I thought stupid idiots and bigots and racists like you went out with the dinosaurs? I didn't know your kind still exists. The people who wrote the book on evolution and animals like you made a huge mistake. I think that, as do many human beings like myself, those scientists ought to go back and re-write their books. Like I said, animals, racists and bigots like you are, in fact, alive and well. Have a good day 🙂
LOL
They weren't making a commercial in effort to push racial intergration. They were making it racially diverse to appeal to a larger portion of the market. It is a marketing firm that produces these, not a non-profit organization.
As for the comments, of course there were incredibly insensitive comments. That's because it is just a commercial, so you can be mean spirited without causing harm to the actors involved. Then you add in 'one-upmanship,' and it is just a matter of time before you have spammers calling for genocide of this or that.
Is there no end to the political tripe? It's a cereal commercial. Get over it. It's advertising. Move on. I don't particularly care for Cheerios, never did. I don't care who else eats them.
Anyone who makes this ad into something racial or political is just looking for a pot to stir. Hey, if you folks want to draw attention to your feeble little opinions, why don't you do something positive, like volunteer somewhere. Nursing homes, soup kitchens, scouts, youth groups, highway trash pickup, etc. are all looking for able bodied people to help out. Most of it doesn't take much brainpower, hence bigots and pundits can find a useful enterprise. Who knows? You might even learn something.
Kudos to General Mills for making this commercial. I live in the Chicago area so it is not uncommon to see people of mixed races in relationships. I was one of them. 🙂
Wow, really? You think that makes Chicago "enlightened"...I live in a small farm town in Indiana, and it's not uncommon around here either.
"I live in a small farm town in Indiana, and it's not uncommon around here either."
Sure it isn't.
saw this commercial a few times. cute little girl makes a mess with cereal. "I must of done that to my parents a hundred times when I was a kid," I thought. It never crossed my mind, the color of any of the person's skin in the commercial. Thanks Mom and Dad for never making the color of a person's skin a differentiating factor in any aspect of my childhood experience.
Why is this comment system different than the other comment system? And when I say different I mean much worse.
The biggest thing is that the commercial was made at all.
Wait until some company makes a commercial with two moms or two dads and the kids.
That will have Fred Phelps apoplectic.
Uh, I think mr. Fred has lost it many, many years ago.
Then the sooner the better!
There are some, but only for niche markets. It will become mainstream in about four or five years, I think.
Americans are thin-skinned, weak, looking for an excuse to feign offense, and seek to be victims. Anyone looking at this Cheerios ad and finding some basis of racism clearly has personal issues. Those personal issues make you an IDIOT! So there. Now you know. Glad I was able to help you.
You need to take a look at yourself.
He's just telling the truth.
I have taught genetics for 22 years. There is only one race. It is the human race. Anyone who thinks humans are divided into whites, blacks, Asians, etc biologically are mistaken. The United States has a big problem with understanding this simple concept. If America is ever to be a great nation, it must educate its populace.
"Race" is a social construct, yes. That does not mean it doesn't exist. Of course we need to educate people but to say that "race" is a non-issue is equally ignorant.
You guys are funny.
I tape everything, so I don't have to even see a lot of commercials. Most of them are stupid anyway.
That girl probably would grow up to knock your socks off though, as long as she went to the gym, ate her vegetables and took it easy on the fried chicken, french fries and red beans and rice. Keep her on the sashimi & steamed veggies diet and in yoga class. Should turn out to be at least an 8.5 if not a 9.
If these people knew how many multi-racial couples there are in Holy Scripture they would probably be horrified. It is 2013 and there are people out there who still judge people by their skin pigmentation. Just amazing.
Civilized modern citizens should realize that there are 50 million bigoted, racist, conservatives in the country and until conservative ignorance is stamped out once and for all, we all will have to put up this hateful racism.
And there's about 169 million indifferent ignorant liberal "sheeple" including 35 million blacks who are slaves to the democratic party, even though they haven't done anything to "move them on up" in about 60 years. You will have had a black democratic president for 8 years in this country in 2017 and there will have been no appreciable movement in the number of blacks graduating from college, the number of black men in jail, and the number of blacks below the poverty line. I'll bet when history looks at it you'll see that blacks fared better under Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, and Bush 2 than under the far left "leadership" of america's first democratic black president. What does that tell ya? Who's "the man" keepin' you down now?
Tells me that its not about race.
You are the one keeping yourself down idiot!
Ah, the perfect example of what my post was pointing out....a hateful, racist rightie....how nice.
This is a beautiful child. Thats what my initial thought was. Then I read and became aware of this irrational hatred. I try to protect my children from this crazy stuff. But it seems to permeate our society, and I wonder how long I can hold out before they are exposed to this crap. I want to protect they're innocence as long as possible. I want them to love everyone the way they do now. It makes me sad to read this stuff. Believe it or not, i am white, and i live in Mobile Alabama. Believe that not all of us are morons.
Right wing nonsense. They can never get past race. NOBODY else cares about race but them. It's a freaking Cheerios commercial. Anyone who has issues with it is out of their minds.
I am shocked – why can't the makers of Oreos (Nabisco) have made this commercial?
Ha! best comment on here.
Big Sugar Eater for president; hope you can do your race proud because you just did with the best and most relevant comment ever!
I find it funny that people automatically think it is conservatives who hate this commercial. The biggest racists on the planet are liberals (see Louisiana Democratic Chairperson). Curious though, make the Dad white and the Mom black and watch the black community freak out.
So vert True!
Why would we freak out?
I think it is interesting that you claim that liberals are more racist than conservatives, yet you offer as evidence exactly ONE person.
The liberals I know are not racist. Some of the conservatives are, but I do not like to use broad sweeping generalities. After all, some are not. In fact, I think the characterization of people as LIBERAL or CONSERVATIVE is pretty narrow thinking. Politics should not be the defining characteristic of a person.
One family I know, for example, could be characterized as conservative. They have done missionary work in many countries. They adopted a girl from Guatemala. They believe in Global Warming. They help out at a local soup kitchen. They have many interracial friends, and they always vote for more public school funding, even though their kids attend a private (religious) school. Why use one word to describe them?
This stikes a central nerve with me on 2 fronts. I am a divorced african american man who is the father of 2 boys from an El Salvadorian mother. We live in Calabasas, CA and have never felt any issues because of Race. On another front, my girlfriend is Persian/Jewish. Her father has displayed some of the most inflamatory racist remarks and comments I have ever experienced. He has told her daughter she can date anything but Black! He blames the culture, and says he doesnt want anyone in his community to know she has a black boyfriend. But , If I were Kobe Bryant, that would be different.
This commercial is adorable. I have seen it and didn't notice until the 3rd time that it was a mixed family. My hats off to Cheerios. I am sure this is merely the beginning. I personally know of 40 or more mixed race families in my area alone. I have to imagine this is the beginning of showing a true reflection of our modern day America.
Thanks General Mills. You got it right!
Very well put, Derek. I don't know why people act the way they do. I think it is about their insecurities and not about you.
Since when has junk food been good for your heart?
Since it became delicious like Cheerios and a source of healthy racial discourse.
Cheerios are made with GMOs. Don't eat them, as they might kill you! Loved the commercial. It's about time...
Yes, Cheerios might kill you...if you try to swallow too many at one and choke on them. Seriously...
Agree, why this is an issue at all in this day and age is really too bad, but as usual it is a minority who's making it an issue. But racists come from the left and the right, don't kid yourselves. All of you political idiots need to shut up, especially you left wing whack jobs who say stupid things like "manufacturing Obama scandals" or some such Tea Party crap. And you friggin' idiot who said 'the father will be gone shortly' or some such thing. You people, all of you, are the problem in this country and you're all so damn arrogant you're blind to it. Get a life all of you.
Great commercial and that's all there is to THAT!
I'm a 61 year old white male, and I think it's about time the ad companies start showing families as they truly are here in the U.S. They need to start adding more racial mixing as life really is like: Mexican+white, African American+Mexican,
African American+Asian, White+Asian, and so on so on so forth !!!
Bizarre that this is even an issue in this day and age. And what's really weird is that we are seeing more and more what a racist country this really is. Granted, the extreme racists (everybody is a little racist) are in a minority, but still...There is clearly a large faction in this country that literally wants the US to remain white Christian dominated, and are willing to commit violent acts in pursuit of that!
???? Violent acts? What violent acts? Where is a young black man in more danger, walking down the street in a small town in Nebraska or the south side of Chicago? Who has killed more young black men, overzealous neighborhood watchmen or other young black men? Seems to me the answer is to get blacks out of the cities and in to the rest of the country as much as possible.
Violence is more a product of population density than anything else, including race. Everybody is more at risk in a city – not because black thugs roam the streets but because high populations create all the building blocks for crime (disparate wealth levels, anonymity, lack of local community structure, easier access to weapons and drugs and experienced criminals).
Sure, moving to the suburbs – or the countryside – is safer, but it is not for everyone, and it lacks a lot of opportunities that cities have.
This ad terrifies Tea Party, GOP, Conservatives. It isn't the 1950s anymore.
Silly Tea Partiers are spending their time throwing a fit about this? You'd think they'd have better things to do, like manufacturing another "scandal" to try to impeach Obama over.
Who said anything about the Tea Party?
Go back to worshiping your puppet.
Nice straw man, no one said anyting about the tea party. You just assumed it, and you know what assuming does...
I saw that commercial the other day, and only now realized that it's a mixed race family. All that I saw were two loving parents, and a sweet little girl who cares about her Daddy's health. How can that be wrong? Bravo Cheerios for representing this reality for many Americans!
Talk about a self generated "stir" created by the liberal media. I hadn't even noticed this commercial and they're saying people are going nuts b/c of it. Seriously liberals! Grow up!
Don't look know, but your ignorance is showing.
So is yours... it's now not know.
Yea, dream on. Just because you're destined for 50 year old virgin- hood.
I am caucasian/Native American, my wife is Filapina/Chinese (of course with the Spanish thrown in the Philippine side for good measure). It makes for a whole lot of checkmarks for our son on the census form. PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS! Btw, yes, Cheerios does drop your bad cholesterol from the action of the oat fiber, in 3 months it took mine down 30 points (but this was also while adding more garlic to my diet as well)
The fact that you were actively monitoring your food intake probably helped, too. Sometimes just being aware if what you eat can make a significant impact on health.
Regardless of why it happened, though, I am glad you have your cholesterol under control.
Cute video. I would love to see more of the sorts.
Har, Har! So the bigots all spit their Cheerios out when they saw this ad. That's a pretty cute kid; her future will be bright
and those anti-types will be dead.
Waaay overdue. This is what families are looking like these days and they should be represented as well. Bravo Cheerios!!
Eventually these people will be outspoken in the real world as they are on the internet.
This is the side effect of multiculturalism and you can certainly expect it to hit a breaking point
Prejudice and racism are not products of multiculturalism. They are aspects of our species' innate xenophobia, and they manifest most strongly during times of war and times of economic crisis. The fact that they are on the rise now is not surprising, but it is not an indictment against multiculturalism.
If you want to see the effects of multiculturalism, look at how we treat Irish people or German people – both immigrant groups that faced strong prejudice a century ago. Now... pretty much none.
Heck, look at how the country feels about Hispanic people now versus 30 years ago – sure there is still a load of hostility, but there are also Hispanic teachers, Hispanic businessmen. Hispanic doctors, in real life and in our popular TV sitcoms (a snapshot of at least part of the American subconsciousness). Overt prejudice may be on the rise, but overt acceptance is likewise on the rise.
I predict that in two generations we will look back at much of this racism as if it were unfathomable that people could think that way... unless of course we have another war.
After the dad leaves, mom will never get a date again. Scarlet Letter.
Not sure why black men get a bad rap. My ex husband is black and my daughter is bi-racial. She is also GORGEOUS! My ex husband takes very good care of her and we communicate very well. My current boyfriend is white. Yes, I did get a date after my divorce and my boyfriend loves my daughter. This is life people, get over it!
It's true.... seen it with my own eyes
So true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There were three things that stood out for me in the commercial. (1) The adorable kid. (2) Mom (General Mills) trying to connect the oats to a healthy heart. I'm not sold that Cheerios once a week will make my heart healthier. and (3) The thing that caught my attention the most was the sitcom a the end with the dad waking up with Cheerios on his heart. 90% of my take away was the humor, which I enjoyed. The racial thing was not memorable really. If I didn't see the commercial as a result of the ad, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. It's just not that a big of a deal to me. For the record: I am 100% Mexican-American married to a green-eyed Scotch-Irish "white" girl. I guess both of our kids are biracial if we want to go there, so maybe I am already "desensitized" and not a good candidate for opinion. Hell, I thought I was white growing up in the middle of no-where Texas. It wasn't until I got married that I realized I wasn't. Hah-Hah
20 years ago, my soon to be sister-in-law came to me and asked me how I felt about the whole biracial thing. That is when the light bulb went off for the first time. My response was for her not to worry, that it would be OK, once my family got to know Suzy, they loved her and accepted her. LOL
I totally disagree with the commercial. What the hell is wrong with all white families and all black families? What's so adorable about a brown kid with an afro?
I find lots of kids adorable. White, black, yellow and all mixed up. I also think some are not so adorable. So, it's not like I am a softie. Let me state another way, I don't find all biracial people physically appealing. Sometimes the aesthetic works for me, sometimes it doesn't. Our brains are wired for certain things beginning with symmetry, healthiness, voice tenor, cadence, the size of the eyes (the ratio of eyes to body are larger in children because we are born with adult sized eyes). The child's eye-2-face ratio is of the things that makes children "adorable" to "normal" people in particular women of childbearing age. Evolution aside, I guess some people are still Neanderthals. Maybe they prefer the eyes on that banjo playing joker from Deliverance. Do you have squinty inbred eyes? Dude, evolution favors hybrid-vigor which you catch in 1st generation mixed babies. It is a really good idea for the species to mix it up every once in awhile. Basic genetics. You do your own thing though brother and get some sunglasses.
Nothing is wrong with all white families. Nothing is wrong with with white black families either.
Long overdue. It has been hinted at by a couple of other TV commercials over the past year but I'm glad someone actually came out and showed that, yes, African-Americans and Whites can like each other enough to live together and produce children. Geez! Imagine that. Like we don't all know that's an everyday thing already.
As a guy who has written copy for most of his adult life, who is Black and has such a daughter I am really amazed that nobody sees the genius written into the little girl's lines as juxtaposed with the good sell job of the Cheerio brand in the context of heart health and the fact the most Black men suffer from high blood pressure and heart-related ailments , which ipso-facto Cheerios can help alleviate. And has anyone even gotten that she poured all the cereal right over his sleeping heart? That, my friends, is the punch line.
We had a similar reaction, but have a similar background. I guess it is all about lens and perspective and what you focus on or choose not to. It's not a matter of "fixing stupid", it is relational. People who have experienced something themselves have to fill in the blanks and invent a reaction. There you have it IMHO. This is really about experiential ignorance.
Wow. Thank you for the insight about the commercial Captain Obvious.
I do think most people got that the Cheerios were poured over hs heart...
I did not know that high blood pressure and heart disease are common in black men, but I did know they were common in ALL men – for example, I am white and the two ailments run in my family. For what it's worth, I got the same reaction as you did – I did not see a black man on the couch – I saw a man like me with a young daughter. The fact that his skin color was different than mine did not make him in any way unrelatable.
Looks like us! I am a white step mother of a 6-yr old African stepdaughter who lives with us right now.
I think you just proved the nay sayers point.
Interracial ads are more common place today. HOWEVER, the trend is to only show two variations: Black man with White woman –and– White man with Asian woman. Why is that??? If you are going to do "bi-racial" then be more inclusive.
Exactly. This is why this commercial is problematic. It reinforces cliche mixed unions and implicitly excludes others.
And this is why it's pointless trying to please the p.c. police. There will always be just one more demand.
No, the hypocrisy of liberals and the PC police is being called out. You can't call for racial equality but deem some races more equal than others. You can't ask for racial blindness when all you see are certain kinds of racial unions and others are belittled and dismissed. Don't pretend to be "liberal" if your open-mindedness only opens a certain way.
In California, we usually have two cheerios comercialls back to back.
I will describe them and let you draw the conclusions.
One, a white woman is gently talking to her baby and the baby picks up and eats the cheerios just like the mom did when she was young.
Then, the next one has a black dad with his back turned, his older son steals all the cheerios from the baby, and the dad turns around and says "the cheerioes bandit got you again!"
Do any obviously racial stereotypes come to mind?
I have the answer to all the world's probles, God should just wipe us all out and start over.
He will. In about 500 million years our planet will no longer be habitable and the balance of gases on the planet will change and our oceans will evaporate. Or MERS could wipe out half the population in the next 5 years and famine and nuclear war could take care of the other half. He'll start over with the bees and in another 5 million years they will have "hive ships" that travel into space at near light speed.
Seriously, are YOU normal??
You might be reading something into it. The message I got was that the black man was taking time with his kids, being a part of their lives. The stealing was sibling rivalry to me, nothing more.
I think they chose to portary a black dad with his kids because of the fact that black men are less likely to live with their kids – or at least the were in the 1990s (I have not seen data from the 2000s or later). The fact that the dad is helping to raise the kids is a very positive message, making that dad into a role model (and hence making his choice of cereal seem more valid). The fact that his interaction with his kids involves light teasing is typical of how Americans view the role of fathers in general.
The brother's choice to take the Cheerios suggests that they are of value – implying they are worth buying – rather than suggesting that the brother is a criminal. Cheerios producers thought long and hard about word choice, and the word 'bandit' is pretty much never associated with the criminal activities of black youths. Thus the comment by the father invokes a sense that he knows how his sons interact, rather than a sense that his elder son is on track to be a gang member.
The white woman bonding closely with her baby was also chosen for a deliberate reason – it invokes the sense of love, safety and trust most people feel as babies towards their mothers. That bond has traditionally been portrayed as more gentle than the one with the father, so Cheerios is trying to make you think that good, nurturing mothers buy Cheerios or their babies... so you should, too.
I think it is an AMAZING ad and VERY long overdue.
That said, I did note that the company cleverly designed the ad to avoid showing any actual interaction between the mom and dad – even between the white woman and her biracial daughter. Most ads tend to place family members a bit closer to each other – to more closely emphasize positive emotional bonds. While there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary in the behaviors of the people in this particular ad, the fact that Cheerios chose to set the ad up this way says to me that they were very concerned about fallout.