Advertising: Issues/Regulations

In the big wide world of advertising campaigns and features, there are bound to be a few issues with some of the television commercials, radio shout-outs and billboards somewhere along the line. Most advertisements are successful in raising awareness, however some adverts have had a long list of complaints from the general public regarding ethnicity, sexual references and mis-leading information.

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A prime example of ethnicity complaints within an advert is the Cheerios advertisement, which aired on 28th May 2013. Launched by General Mills, the commercial received a racist backlash after it featured a mixed-race girl, her Caucasian mother and African-American father. The advert begins with the girl asking her mother if Cheerios are "heart-healthy", which results in the mother saying they are; then the girl then pours Cheerios onto her father's chest. The video started a social outtake on mixed-race families as they stated it was 'racist' and 'not a modern family.' As of January 2014, the video had raked in over 4.6 million views; with 74,000 likes and 2,900 dislikes. General Mills disabled the comments on the YouTube video, but declined to remove it.

Heart Healthy Cheerios ad

I remember the first time I ever saw this advertisement. I physically did not take into consideration that all three families members were 'visibly' a different race. Why should it matter? I know so many families that have mixed race children or brothers, etc. I thought Cheerios and General Mills were whole-heartedly very brave, as they must've known that some viewers would not agree with this advertisement. 

Facebook comments on the official Cheerios page

Camelle Gibson, vide president of marketing at Cheerios, stated in an interview with Gawker, "Consumers have responded positively to our new Cheerios ad. At Cheerios, we know there are many kinds of families and we celebrate them all." I fully stand by and support this statement. I think the advert is a beautiful way of teaching BOTH adults and children that there is no such thing as a 'normal' family. Love is love, and this is where the healthy heart cliche comes in. No matter what race, ethnicity or religion you are, happiness is what you make it.


Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

http://www.asa.org.uk - accessed on 28th-Jan-2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/cheerios-commercial-racist-backlash_n_3363507.html - accessed on 28th-Jan-2014