CHEERIOS: Realism in Advertising to Consumers
Cheerios has topped the list of breakfast brands since it was introduced as the first ready-to-eat cereal in 1941. Originally called CheeriOats, the product's positioning was boosted in 1992 when the Food and Drug Administration claimed that Cheerios and other oat products could lower the risk of heart disease. With that news, Cheerios became heart healthy!
Millions of Americans include Cheerios in their daily rituals, whether it's breakfast or a snack bag for a toddler. Cheerios' success relies, in part, on an advertising message that focuses on one prominent American value: family. Although the brand stuck with their formula, they sparked a national dialog about modern racism when they used a biracial family to advertise the heart healthy benefits of the cereal in a television commercial.
The ad that sparked the conversation, "Just Checking," opens with a happy girl eating breakfast with her Mom, who is white, and learning about the heart healthy benefits of Cheerios. In a later scene you see the girl's dad, who is black, wake up to find that his daughter had placed Cheerios over his heart to make him healthier. The ad was aired nationally on television and posted on the Cheerios' YouTube channel. A small, but vocal group used the comments section of You-Tube to harshly air their dissatisfaction with the casting in the commercial. Cheerios quickly disabled the comments section of the online commercial, but not before a portion of the four million viewers read the racist comments and became engaged in the discussion.
The commercial was the topic of countless blogs, television shows, radio broadcasts, and news outlets. With research supporting the growing number of interracial families, most critics applauded General Mills for the ad. General Mills executives said they were genuinely surprised to see the negative reactions as they felt they were just reflecting the changing face of the American family.
Fueled by the negative responses to the commercial, online producers Benny and Rafi Fine, known as The Fine Brothers, produced their own video related to the Cheerios commercial. In their video, kids are asked to react to the ad and speculate on why it is controversial. The kids have no idea why the biracial couple is controversial; all they see is a happy and loving family. This response is certainly an encouraging reflection on the values of our youngest generation. The Fine Brothers video received over 10 million views, more than twice the views of the original ad. Overall, most advertising critics would agree the video has helped the Cheerios brand. Online data company Kontera is reporting that Cheerios beat the average content views of their competitors by 137 percent with this commercial. Others say this might be more attention than Cheerios would like to see directed to their brand. Time will tell whether Cheerios continues their attempts to bring more realism to its advertising.
1- Should Cheerios have been more sensitive to cultural issues?
2- Do you think this ad will increase sales of Cheerios?