Cheerios ad with mixed-race family draws racist responses

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

A new Cheerios commercial featuring a biracial family has prompted a debate over race in America after drawing a host of ugly remarks online.

The commercial features a biracial daughter asking her white mother if Cheerios are good for your heart, and then dumping a batch on her black father’s chest to playfully help his heart while he is sleeping on the couch. Some of the reaction was so offensive that General Mills, the maker of Cheerios, disabled the comments section on the YouTube video of the commercial. General Mills has announced it will not be pulling the ad due to any controversy.

“The comments that were made in our view were not family-friendly, and that was really the trigger for us, you know, to pull them off,’’ said Camille Gibson, VP marketing for General Mills, on TODAY Monday.

Discussing the development, TODAY’s Donny Deutsch brought personal perspective to bear: Twenty years ago, the chairman of advertising agency Deutsch Inc. featured an interracial couple in an advertisement. While he applauded Cheerios’ decision to include a mixed-race couple in its commercial, he understood why some companies would shy away from it.

 

 

For More Information: http://www.today.com/news/cheerios-ad-mixed-race-family-draws-racist-responses-6C10169988

 

[Turbo19]

How could anyone have a hateful response to the ad. More and more often I'm seeing similar hate and it's very sickening that in this age, and in this country that people still hold such prejudice views. I wouldn't be surprised is over 50% of the U.S. population were closet racists.

 

I personally applaud corporations that attempt to reach out to a wider audience by including various demographic groups, even if it is really just to gain more consumers.

[Grand Concourse]

Speaking of cheerios, can the drop the chick singing the brand's name in that 'lovey dovey' voice? It's so annoying.

[User]

I don't see what the big deal is. I saw the ad on the morning news this morning and I saw nothing wrong with it. These are the stupidest complaints ever.

 

 

Speaking of cheerios, can the drop the chick singing the brand's name in that 'lovey dovey' voice? It's so annoying.

The one and only Cheerios!

[Turbo19]

Speaking of cheerios, can the drop the chick singing the brand's name in that 'lovey dovey' voice? It's so annoying.

You pay that much attention to the damn ad itself?

 

 

That's a new one, LOL.

[DJ MC]

This kind of reminds me of something that involved LL Cool J and Brad Paisley with a song called Accidental Racist.  

 

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/paisley-ll-cool-j-stand-accidental-racist-124126727--abc-news-music.html

 

As for the cheerios ad I don't see what the problem is with a mixed race family and the video itself. People seriously need to grow a set. Shoot you can't even do anything these days without people calling you racist, getting suspended from school for doing something that is relatively harmless, or arrested for doing something that isn't even against the law. 

[Grand Concourse]

You pay that much attention to the damn ad itself?

 

 

That's a new one, LOL.

I still watch shows when it airs, so hard not to miss it.

=

@Brett:

:daffy duck screaming: lol

[Turbo19]

I still watch shows when it airs, so hard not to miss it.

LOL, I rarely watch TV as it is. The only reason I knew what you were referencing was because I overheard the ad itself while glancing at the new this morning.

 

Whatever, carry on.

[peacemak3r]

Saw this on WSHH and don't even know what the big fuss is about.  Kudos to General Mills/Cheerios for keeping the ad up though.

[RTS CNG Command]

Racism has no place in society, and it's disgusting to see this well-done, family-friendly commercial subject to such abuse! General Mills did a great job sending the message to audiences who have a open-minded conscience that there are families who are of mixed races, and this commercial lets mixed-race families know they're aware that they're out there even though they're small in numbers.

 

It's even better to hear that General Mills has no intention to pull the ad nor bow down to the racism.

[B35 via Church]

Saw a youtube video of someone talking about this over the weekend.... I'm with the consensus of replies that says they don't see how the commercial is racist....

 

What I do get a sense of the problem being (from the people that are deeming it racist), is the age old concern of interracial coupling - noticably & specifically that of which consists of a black man & a white woman (which has long been the most hated).....

 

A little mixed girl caring about her black father... WHAT... Can't have that....

Oh, the black father is laying lazily on the couch - Race bait, race bait.....

 

GTFOH......

 

I also applaud general mills for not backing down.....

[GojiMet86]

Saw a youtube video of someone talking about this over the weekend.... I'm with the consensus of replies that says they don't see how the commercial is racist....

 

What I do get a sense of the problem being (from the people that are deeming it racist), is the age old concern of interracial coupling - noticably & specifically that of which consists of a black man & a white woman (which has long been the most hated).....

 

 

Yep, a vestige of the old "the black man is a sexual beast and will get it on with the precious white woman" fear that people had back in the day. Horrible, the crap they made up about people.

[mtattrain]

What people can start are the best things in the world (sarcasm).

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Racism has no place in society, and it's disgusting to see this well-done, family-friendly commercial subject to such abuse! General Mills did a great job sending the message to audiences who have a open-minded conscience that there are families who are of mixed races, and this commercial lets mixed-race families know they're aware that they're out there even though they're small in numbers.

 

It's even better to hear that General Mills has no intention to pull the ad nor bow down to the racism.

Actually it's quite the contrary from the news reports I saw yesterday... The number of commercials with mixed race families dwarfs in comparison to the number of actual mixed race families.  Seems as if their numbers are growing but the presence on TV hasn't.  

[RTS CNG Command]

Actually it's quite the contrary from the news reports I saw yesterday...

I didn't see the report, but according to what I read, real-life multiracial Americans are still rather small. In 2006, only two percent of Americans were multiracial. In 2011, there were 2.9%. A big jump, but still relatively small.

 

The number of commercials with mixed race families dwarfs in comparison to the number of actual mixed race families.  Seems as if their numbers are growing but the presence on TV hasn't. 

Can't argue with that, and besides being well-written, that's why I'm glad this commercial was produced. Fictional multiracial families are barely seen on TV, and General Mills and that commercial send people two messages:

 

1. General Mills isn't afraid to step out of the typical comfort zone that companies display in media, and that's featuring a fictional multiracial family in the Cheerios commercial.

 

2. With this commercial, General Mills acknowledges that multiracial families do exist.

[CenSin]

Everyone know dem darkies all want demselves white women!

Boondocks… Uncle Ruckus says all the racist things most Americans only have the balls to say on the internet (and he's black). If you haven't watched the series already, go do it now.

[realizm]

Yep, a vestige of the old "the black man is a sexual beast and will get it on with the precious white woman" fear that people had back in the day. Horrible, the crap they made up about people.

Agreed. Unfortunately people who thin we are still living in the 1950's still are harping on racial stereotypes and harboring hate based on color. Well, some people need to get with the program already. There are many interracial families out here in the US as American society in this area is steadily progressing.

 

Hate can be a form of fear for people who harbor racist ideology. Afraid that they will be in the minority, demographics-wise by 2050 approximately. Well hey, if the haters don't like it as far as I'm concerned they can leave the country and move to the moon!

 

The faster the better......

 

 

Saw a youtube video of someone talking about this over the weekend.... I'm with the consensus of replies that says they don't see how the commercial is racist....

 

What I do get a sense of the problem being (from the people that are deeming it racist), is the age old concern of interracial coupling - noticably & specifically that of which consists of a black man & a white woman (which has long been the most hated).....

 

A little mixed girl caring about her black father... WHAT... Can't have that....

Oh, the black father is laying lazily on the couch - Race bait, race bait.....

Good points. I'll have to interject the fact that the most hated are black men married to/dating Asian women. That's some sad shit right there. Many reasons why.....

[B35 via Church]

Good points. I'll have to interject the fact that the most hated are black men married to/dating Asian women. That's some sad shit right there. Many reasons why.....

Thanks, but speaking as a black man, I don't agree with your interjection..... BM/WW has always been more despised than BM/AW.....

 

This cheerios commercial/ad is getting noticable backlash from quite a bit of black men, black women, & white men....

- black men because it's showing the black man as being shiftless, a racist stereotype...

- (racist) white men because it shows a black man with their woman... racial impurity, as it's seen.....

- black women, well it's a combination of 2 things - the showing of people of the black race as being shiftless (again, a racist stereotype) & the fact that it's promoting black men leaving their own women..... IR dating is only alright with them if the gender & race is reversed (meaning, BW/WM)....

 

I'd venture to say that the non-racist white women are staying silent as hell about this commercial......

 

 

Everyone know dem darkies all want demselves white women !

general attitude that black women have about black men (especially ones with money)....

general attitude that racist white men have about black men....

 

Black women feel that white women "are taking all the good ones", and they can't stand it....

Because the feeling really isn't all that mutual from white men towards them....

 

Yep, a vestige of the old "the black man is a sexual beast and will get it on with the precious white woman" fear that people had back in the day. Horrible, the crap they made up about people.

Just noticed this comment....  Yup, that is a very real fear that racist white men have (case in point, Emmett Till)....

Another example of this is in cartoon porn (and "cuckold" porn for the matter" - depicting the black man as being gargantuan/beastly together with the little precious white woman.... It is not just about mere sex, but about "punishing" the white woman....

[realizm]

Thanks, but speaking as a black man, I don't agree with your interjection..... BM/WW has always been more despised than BM/AW.....

 

This cheerios commercial/ad is getting noticable backlash from quite a bit of black men, black women, & white men....

- black men because it's showing the black man as being shiftless, a racist stereotype...

- (racist) white men because it shows a black man with their woman... racial impurity, as it's seen.....

- black women, well it's a combination of 2 things - the showing of people of the black race as being shiftless (again, a racist stereotype) & the fact that it's promoting black men leaving their own women..... IR dating is only alright with them if the gender & race is reversed (meaning, BW/WM)....

 

I'd venture to say that the non-racist white women are staying silent as hell about this commercial......

 

 

Just noticed this comment....  Yup, that is a very real fear that racist white men have (case in point, Emmett Till)....

Another example of this is in cartoon porn (and "cuckold" porn for the matter" - depicting the black man as being gargantuan/beastly together with the little precious white woman.... It is not just about mere sex, but about "punishing" the white woman....

 

Well in cases like this, the problem lies in the fact that BM/AF couples are shunned by the Asian community. I was well aquainted with a black man who is now a professor in law married to a gorgeous Asian woman. (Now they have three bouncing baby boys). To keep it brief, his father in law slapped him, called him a low life ****** countless times and once he pointed a .45 to his head threatening to kill him.

 

US census stats also show that the revelance of Afro-Asian couples is alarming low as compared to say WM/AF couples.

 

I'm also talking from experience in being with a Japanese woman for 5 years in change, firsthand as a mixed Asian man.

 

But indeed this society being so f**ked up shuns white/black couples as well. Remember the case of the white lady with her half black child who was assaulted on a plane and the obscene comments that came out of his mouth? So I hear you.

 

I'm in accord on the depiction of black men in porn (stereotypical depiction of the non-professional black man). This is the same case with the Asian woman in porn, albeit with a different take on racist stereotypes. (All Asian women being hypersexualized and awaiting to be gangbaned and enslaved by white men)

 

The entertainment industry. Brainwashing people to no end. Porn is no exception. Disgusting, not just because but in that industry (as you've mentioned if I read you correctly) depecting racist stereotypes in the process.

[B35 via Church]

Well in cases like this, the problem lies in the fact that BM/AF couples are shunned by the Asian community. I was well aquainted with a black man who is now a professor in law married to a gorgeous Asian woman. (Now they have three bouncing baby boys). To keep it brief, his father in law slapped him, called him a low life ****** countless times and once he pointed a .45 to his head threatening to kill him.

 

US census stats also show that the revelance of Afro-Asian couples is alarming low as compared to say WM/AF couples.

 

I'm also talking from experience in being with a Japanese woman for 5 years in change, firsthand as a mixed Asian man.

 

But indeed this society being so f**ked up shuns white/black couples as well. Remember the case of the white lady with her half black child who was assaulted on a plane and the obscene comments that came out of his mouth? So I hear you.

 

I'm in accord on the depiction of black men in porn (stereotypical depiction of the non-professional black man). This is the same case with the Asian woman in porn, albeit with a different take on racist stereotypes. (All Asian women being hypersexualized and awaiting to be gangbaned and enslaved by white men)

 

The entertainment industry. Brainwashing people to no end. Porn is no exception. Disgusting, not just because but in that industry (as you've mentioned if I read you correctly) depecting racist stereotypes in the process.

I'm not saying that BM/AF couples aren't hated or aren't low, so you don't have to try to convince me of that.... I'm well aware of how asian men feel about us black men getting with their women.... But I will not be convinced that BM/AW couples are more hated than BM/WF couples.... That's all I'm saying.

 

As far as AF/WM couples, well you can feel free to speak on that, as I'm neither white nor asian....

[realizm]

Well in cases like this, the problem lies in the fact that BM/AF couples are shunned by the Asian community. I was well aquainted with a black man who is now a professor in law married to a gorgeous Asian woman. (Now they have three bouncing baby boys). To keep it brief, his father in law slapped him, called him a low life ****** countless times and once he pointed a .45 to his head threatening to kill him.

 

US census stats also show that the revelance of Afro-Asian couples is alarming low as compared to say WM/AF couples.

 

I'm also talking from experience in being with a Japanese woman for 5 years in change, firsthand as a mixed Asian man.

 

But indeed this society being so f**ked up shuns white/black couples as well. Remember the case of the white lady with her half black child who was assaulted on a plane and the obscene comments that came out of his mouth? So I hear you.

 

I'm in accord on the depiction of black men in porn (stereotypical depiction of the non-professional black man). This is the same case with the Asian woman in porn, albeit with a different take on racist stereotypes. (All Asian women being hypersexualized and awaiting to be gangbaned and enslaved by white men)

 

The entertainment industry. Brainwashing people to no end. Porn is no exception. Disgusting, not just because but in that industry (as you've mentioned if I read you correctly) depecting racist stereotypes in the process.

 

I'm not saying that BM/AF couples aren't hated or aren't low, so you don't have to try to convince me of that.... I'm well aware of how asian men feel about us black men getting with their women.... But I will not be convinced that BM/AW couples are more hated than BM/WF couples.... That's all I'm saying.

 

As far as AF/WM couples, well you can feel free to speak on that, as I'm neither white nor asian....

 

 

OK. You have your opinion which you are entitled to and I have my personal experiences and knowledge on my own dual heritage as an Asian man.

 

There's a plethora of books on the Asian American community, sites on the internet and such that will confirm what I am saying, through articles and statistical reports produced by sociologists and APA activists in case you wish to add to your knowledge. Plus I am in authority to speak on this as a mixed Asian man with not just a Chinese and Indian lineage but also an Afrocentric lineage, coming out of an interracial marriage myself so if you have any questions in the future you can shoot me a post or a PM.

[B35 via Church]

OK. You have your opinion which you are entitled to and I have my personal experiences and knowledge on my own dual heritage as an Asian man.

 

There's a plethora of books on the Asian American community, sites on the internet and such that will confirm what I am saying, through articles and statistical reports produced by sociologists and APA activists in case you wish to add to your knowledge. Plus I am in authority to speak on this as a mixed Asian man with not just a Chinese and Indian lineage but also an Afrocentric lineage, coming out of an interracial marriage myself so if you have any questions in the future you can shoot me a post or a PM.

Now it's looking like you're trying to force your opinions onto me..... This isn't about questioning any authority or anything like that....

 

You have your opinion with which you are entitled to, just as much as I am with mine......

[realizm]

Now it's looking like you're trying to force your opinions onto me..... This isn't about questioning any authority or anything like that....

 

You have your opinion with which you are entitled to, just as much as I am with mine......

 

But who said I am stating an opinion? I never said that my statements was an 'opinion'. My take on this aspect of this discussion is based on fact, and I even offered to post credible articles to confirm what I am saying anticipating that you will reply with this very quoted post in those words, and well, you declined.

 

Anyway, I will assume there is no more room for discussion here between us at on this particular. I'm not here for a time wasting back and forth arguement over assumptions and opinions (your words) when I know what I am saying is a real problematic aspect of American society. Such as the points brought out by the writer of the article posted.

 

Lastly if I may, when I meant "I am in authority to speak" that was meant in the sense that on this issue I would imagine that I wiuld be entitled to my viewpoint since you are talking to who is in essense, all in all, an Afro-Asian American man born out of an IR marriage in an interracial relationship to an Asian woman who will be a dad to a mixed Asian child in about 8 months now. You can't speak for me and really I would not like you to, put it that way.

 

Hope that clarifies things a bit here for you.

[B35 via Church]

But who said I am stating an opinion? I never said that my statements was an 'opinion'. My take on this aspect of this discussion is based on fact, and I even offered to post credible articles to confirm what I am saying anticipating that you will reply with this very quoted post in those words, and well, you declined.

 

Anyway, I will assume there is no more room for discussion here between us at on this particular. I'm not here for a time wasting back and forth arguement over assumptions and opinions (your words) when I know what I am saying is a real problematic aspect of American society. Such as the points brought out by the writer of the article posted.

 

Lastly if I may, when I meant "I am in authority to speak" that was meant in the sense that on this issue I would imagine that I wiuld be entitled to my viewpoint since you are talking to who is in essense, all in all, an Afro-Asian American man born out of an IR marriage in an interracial relationship to an Asian woman who will be a dad to a mixed Asian child in about 8 months now. You can't speak for me and really I would not like you to, put it that way.

 

Hope that clarifies things a bit here for you.

I'm saying it's an opinion.... You are the one that came in here & interjected that BM/AW couples are more hated than BM/WW couples.... So you disagreed with what I said, that's fine..... Of course you're entitled to your viewpoint, who's acting as if it's otherwise..... By saying what I did (of which you happened to disagree with), that was not me so-called trying to speak for you - but I'm not gonna concede to your point stating that BM/AW couples are more hated because it's your reality, either....

 

Now all of a sudden it's a time wasting back & forth argument... I said verbatim that I will not be convinced that BM/AW couples are more hated than BM/WW couples.... Rather than let this whole thing die out on that note, you proceed to telling me that there are books on the Asian American community that confirms what you're saying and how much of an authority you are to speak on this, this & that....

 

So yeah man, there isn't any more room for discussion here.... I thought that much was evident after this post....

[realizm]

 

Now all of a sudden it's a time wasting back & forth argument... I said verbatim that I will not be convinced that BM/AW couples are more hated than BM/WW couples.... Rather than let this whole thing die out on that note, you proceed to telling me that there are books on the Asian American community that confirms what you're saying and how much of an authority you are to speak on this, this & that....

 

 

 

Don't cut me off.

 

The United States is an ever growing multicultural nation. Therefore the problems concerning racism is simply not a cut and dry black and white issue anymore. We have persons of Asian and Hispanic descent with their problems that may be of a different nature from Afro-Americans. That is what I know, rather guarantee that you are not seeing here.

 

Don't forget that we all bleed red, however coming from different origins, we will have to deal with different problems having to do with this society. It's really not a hard concept to grasp once one learns to think out of the box.

 

Don't get angry at me, I did not create this system or contribute to the problems in our society we see today.

 

 

Take your time. I'll read whatever response you post later on in the day.