Kids React To Cheerios Commercial With Interracial Family [Video]
Kids reacted to a Cheerios commercial, featuring an interracial family, differently than many adults. The commercial was aired earlier this year and was subject to numerous racist comments. The commercial featured a little girl and her parents, discussing the health benefits of Cheerios cereal.
The little girl in the commercial asks her mother whether Cheerios are healthy for the heart. She was “just checking” as she had poured an entire box of Cheerios onto her sleeping father’s chest.
The controversy had nothing to do with the commercial’s content. It had everything to do with the color of skin. The mother in the commercial is white, the father is black, and the child is biracial. Unfortunately, for some, this was offensive.
The comments, posted under the commercial on YouTube, were so hateful that they were eventually disabled.
As reported by AdWeek.com, Cheerios Vice President Camille Gibson explains the decision to disable viewer comments:
“The [YouTube] comments that were made were, in our view, not family friendly. And that was really the trigger for us to pull them off.”
Gibson explains that Cheerios was simply trying to “portray an American family.” As families come in many different forms, the commercial was an attempt to “celebrate them all.”
National Media Rock Stars decided to show a group of children the same commercial, recording their reaction. Twelve children between the ages of seven and 13 were shown the commercial.
Benny and Rafi Fine, who produced the video, explain that how kids react to the Cheerios commercial “can give an incredibly valuable insight into where society is and where we are headed…”
The children’s reactions were refreshing. They simply saw a Cheerios commercial featuring a family.
Following the viewing, they discussed the content of the commercial, the cute little girl, and the Cheerios. None of the children had any idea why anyone was angry or upset over the commercial.
The kids’ reaction to the Cheerios commercial gives us hope for the future. It is obvious that their generation can identify a family, regardless of skin color.
[Image via Flickr]
