I’m glad GM did this commercial. How often have you heard people of various groups complaining that they’re not represented in shows, movies, commercials? Well, I can see inter-racial couples being less than pleased if they’re not included in such. Plus, that commerical is pretty darn cute.
I don’t buy Cheerios all that much, so I’m clueless on this. When and how did they redesign the box?
That’s pretty much my default for dealing with racist jackasses (yeah, I know it’s redundant): to hell with them. I’d like to think that the advertising gurus who created this particular commercial did not even think it’d be controversial. Maybe I’m living in a dream world. The more people who think like I do, though, the less (percentagewise, of course) will be thinking like knuckle-draggers.
It is the perfect answer and kinda makes me wish I were something other than bluish white with red hair so I’d have a chance to use it myself.
I love Cheerios. I have always loved Cheerios. This commercial doesn’t make me love them any more or any less. But, it is a really cute commercial, it gets the message across with very little talking, and that little girl is adorable.
And I desperately want some Cheerios but I can’t buy them any more. I’m more addicted to them than I ever was to cigarettes. I’d happily eat nothing else for the rest of my life.
I don’t get it. Haven’t any of these racist types ever been to Walmart? You can’t swing a Slim Jim in there without hitting a white girl with a mixed baby. It’s the cool thing to do now. It’s like getting upset over seeing a tattoo to be upset over that.
scratch: Seeing that just reinforces in the racist mind how right they are. It doesn’t matter how well-dressed, well-kempt, happy, etc. the inter-racial family is: it’s just one more datapoint in the racist version of reality. Their version is that the White man is all-conquering of the non-White woman/the White woman, being such the delicate and frail blossom she is, has been seduced by the evil non-White man and the children are just evidence of a “sin against nature.”
Reality doesn’t actually play in their [del]vacuum chambers[/del] minds, friend. Not at all.
It’s mentioned early on and ties in with how Rue is described.
“And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she’s very like Prim in size and demeanor.”
and during training:
“…and see the little girl from District 11 standing back a bit, watching us. She’s the twelve-year-old, the one who reminded me so of Prim in stature. Up close she looks about ten. She has bright, dark eyes and satiny brown skin…”
During the interview:
“The boy tribute from District 11, Thresh, has the same dark skin as Rue, but the resemblance stops there.”
Yes, I have read the trilogy. I’m a big fan of most of the trilogy (I hated the ending). You’re right about Beetee. He’s described in the book as having “ashen skin.” I’m sure Jeffrey Wright was cast just because he’s a great actor. The fact that it will drive asshole racist Hunger Games fans crazy is a wonderful perk.
I am a white woman married to an Asian man. We are seldom so much as glanced at twice. We adopted our Indian son, who is even darker than his father. I only notice other Indians glancing twice at us, and even at that, have never experienced anything I perceived as more than just simple curiosity. Perhaps Cheerios aired the commercial because mixed-race couples are part of our every day lives, and as such, is (or bloody well should be) a non-issue. Once, an elderly couple made a disparaging remark to my husband and I. I was sorely tempted to respond in kind, but restrained myself. You can’t educate that level if ignorance out of people who have lived many decades stewing in their own prejudice, and really, what do their opinions matter? Had I chosen to respond with a nasty remark of my own, I wouldn’t have lost any sleep over it. I just felt they were beneath any kind of acknowledgment at all.
(Hint for those who don’t want to click through to the ingredients list and/or know nothing about Cheerios: It’s not sugar-coated. Or high in added sugar.)
Are we really going to debate nutritional value of cereal? Even though you live in a country where it is very difficult to educate consumers everyone should already know that cereal has 0 nutritional value and, the “tastier” it is, the more harmful it is. But, yeah, I’m sure there’s a silver lining somewhere there…
Just to rub some salt into their wounds, I hope the next commercial they have is 4 adults, they are all sleeping in a giant king bed, all of different races, they all get up and head to the kitchen, and a teenage boy holding hands with his boyfriend who also slept over comes into the kitchen giving each one a hug while saying to them individually one at a time, “Hi Mom! Hi Ma! Hi Dad! Hi pappa! Thanks for the cheerios!” Polyamory, gay, interracial… let’s offend everyone
Since you apparently know nothing about said product to the point where you think it’s actually sugar-coated, I thought you might want to check the ingredient list and nutritional breakdown. You know, because facts are useful.
and was promptly hired to play the husband in a Kingsford charcoal ad
(which makes me wonder: will the “stupid husband/smart wife” formula survive in a era it’s also a stupid Black person being bailed out of life’s simpler tasks by a white person?)
