"Was Cheerios trying to deliver some sort of message by casting this family as biracial? I don't know the answer to that but I do know that there was nothing wrong with doing that. It - in its absolute context, the ad is, I would say, successful, heartfelt, and seemed to deliver on the message they were intending. And I think all Cheerios is doing, whether they meant to or not, is putting up a mirror to the fabric of our society today.
The statistic you quoted before, 15% of all relationships or marriages are now multiracial. There's, in my mind, there's nothing wrong with reflecting that reality in the advertising we see, just like we're seeing it reflected in our popular media." (Source)
The statistic you quoted before, 15% of all relationships or marriages are now multiracial. There's, in my mind, there's nothing wrong with reflecting that reality in the advertising we see, just like we're seeing it reflected in our popular media." (Source)
CONTEXT:
The advertisement in the video is for Cheerios and was originally aired during the 2014 Superbowl. The ad was met with a lot of racially charged comments because it depicted a white mother and black father with their interracial daughter. A segment on NPR discussed this commercial, with host Michel Martin inviting Adweek editor Michael Burgi to comment on the ad and its place in social media and the world at large.
Course REading:
"And yet, they construct narrow boundaries for themselves and others, limiting the multicultural possibilities inherent in a campus and community that is so diverse. The friendships lost, the cross-cultural understanding and learning that might have been gained, the connections that might have been possible are foreclosed. The many students at Madison who are biracial or multicultural cannot embrace their full humanness, but rather are pushed to choose one part of their being for their social identity-- or find it chosen for them (Olsen, Made in America: Immigrant Students in Our Public Schools, 75).
Analysis:
The White/People of Color binary is central to this commercial and corresponding NPR discussion. Many people on the Internet commented (undoubtedly empowered by the veil of anonymity YouTube comment sections provide) on the Cheerios advertisement critiquing the portrayal of an interracial family: Timothy Lopez commented, “They had to put a mongrel in did they little basturd kid and her race treasoning parents selfish enough to race mix” and Tom Moore also had something to say about the matter: “The little black bitch is ugly as well as stupid. LOL.” These sentiments not only illustrate the discrimination and racism People of Color face in America, but the last comment in particular shows the “either/or” default when talking about interracial children. Tom Moore states that the child, who is of mixed race, is entirely black, effectively choosing for her what race she is perceived as, while Timothy Lopez referred to the interracial girl as a “mongrel,” further dehumanizing her. These attitudes resonate with Olsen’s investigation of race at Madison High School, where interracial students are expected to choose which race they identify with; otherwise it will be “chosen for them.” This formation of identity is crucial for mixed race people because they are found in the middle of the race binary. As a result, these individuals are often pushed to one side of their heritage because the American society cannot fathom a person being anything other than entirely a white person or entirely a person of color. Even though, as the NPR commentary pointed out, “15% of all relationships or marriages are now multiracial” and “Cheerios… is putting up a mirror to the fabric of our society today,” there are still people who cannot accept an interracial family because it disturbs these notions of the binary. Consequently, much like the students at Madison, opportunities for friendships, connections, and an understanding about diversity are completely lost in the urge to label people as one race or another, but not both.