New Cheerios Biracial Ad is Well Liked Despite Controversy

As America is going through a process of paramount cultural changes, the advertising world is also shifting and bending to include these new paradigms.  Last month,  General Mills decided to air a biracial ad that has caused some stir on the Internet.  The ad "Just Checking", created by Saatchi & Saatchi depicts a biracial child asking her mother, who is in a mixed-raced couple, if Cheerios is good for the heart.  Her mother then proceeds to tell her that it does help to reduce cholesterol, and as soon as the child hears that, she takes the box of Cheerios out of the kitchen.  Her father, who is an African American wakes up to a mountain of Cheerios right on his heart.  Touching ad, and very representative of today's society.

Unfortunately, many took to the Youtube site to bash the ad for its biracial depiction.  There were endless hateful comments from people who disagreed with the ad in many forms.  All you have to do is go to youtube and find the comment section to see the scroll of comments.

This, however, did not deter Cheerios from continuing to air the ad.  The ad is still running and Cheerios is not backing down.  In a more recent study, Ace Metrix found out that Americans do in fact like the ad.  The ad commanded a higher likeability and attention that other cereal ads.  The ad scored higher amongst African-Americans, then Asian-Americans, and Hispanics.  See full story.