Feeling nostalgic for those pre-civil rights days?
Cheerios is serving up some good old-fashioned controversy in it’s all American breakfast cereal, bringing to light some rather racist comments.
Its use of an interracial family has some on both sides of the spectrum up in arms posting racist remarks so ugly Cheerios had to shut down the comments on the You Tube video.
In a supposed post-racial America that has a mixed race president why such controversy?
This retro racist backlash is so 1952.
White Wash
The longtime held belief of one kind of American family is as dated and quaint as this vintage ad for John Hancock Life Insurance.
“No two families are alike” announces the headline to the advertisement. Yes, there is great diversity in America… that is as long as you are white, middle class and Protestant. Whether in advertising, children’s schoolbooks or television, mid-century America was a very black and white world.
Today there are lots of multiracial families. Mixed race couples make up 14% of co habituating couples….just not in advertising. Ad agencies and the company’s that hire them continue to cover their eyes to the diversity of American families.
Happy Families come in all colors.
So what’s new?
Copyright (©) 2013 Sally Edelstein All Rights Reserved
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- Interracial-family Cheerios ad draws racist trolls (sfgate.com)
- Adorable Cheerios Commercial Gets Racist Backlash Online (huffingtonpost.com)
- Hate talk won’t derail mixed-race Cheerios ad (usatoday.com)