Sweet, Honey Nut Revenge

Last May, Cheerios came out with a surprisingly controversial commercial featuring an interracial family. Surprising in the sense that it was considered controversial at all. It stars Gracie, a cute little girl who just happens to have parents of different races. The ad, like many other Cheerios ads, focuses on heart health, but low and behold the internet did not see it that way. The commercial was put on youtube, where it was harshly criticized by a wave of users in the comments section. Countless racial slurs and explicit disapproval forced Cheerios to disable the comment option on the video.

Here is the commercial:

But this is where it starts to get good. In response to the backlash from the more ignorant folk of the nation, Cheerios decided to buy a time slot in this year's Superbowl, something they've never done before. Not only were they featured in the Superbowl, but their commercial brought back the same family from the first commercial. And instead of addressing the issue of race like some might've expected, they did something much, much better.

The Superbowl Commercial titled "Gracie":

Cheerios cleverly used this commercial to once again normalize the concept of family by sticking to a basic and sincere plot. By highlighting a completely ordinary situation that any family might have to go through, Cheerios reiterated how silly the controversy was in the first place. Camille Gibson, Cheerios' vice president of marketing, stated about the positive response of the second ad "At Cheerios, we know there are many kinds of families, and we celebrate them all." Simply put, Cheerios strikes with a "no big deal" attitude, which might be the best offense against those who wish to stir up unwanted and unwarranted issues.

Although I have no doubts that Cheerios saw this as a fantastic way to promote advertising and gain publicity, they still serve as a role model for other ad agencies. The world of commercials progresses much slower than that of television or film, and continuously shies away from diversity. Hopefully, this ad will start the ball rolling, or at least make everyone more aware of the racial problems that still very much exist in the media.