Controversial Cheerios

Cheerios is one of the most loved and venerated brands of cereal. At least until this week.

Cheerios has come out with a new TV commercial, "Just Checking", that is designed to highlight its heart health characteristics. The commercial is cute and even tugs at you heart a little.

There is one catch, however. The family featured in the commercial is biracial, and that has sparked controversy among a small, but vocal, segment of the population. So much so that comments on the YouTube page had to be shut down because of the nasty responses. The video has had over 3 million views there so far, and the number of thumbs-up exceed the thumbs-down by over 20 times. General Mills is standing by the commercial.



It's hard to believe that in 2013 an ad featuring an interracial family generates that type of reaction since it is a prevalent reality in American society. Nevertheless, it is a bold marketing move, and intended or not, Cheerios is getting tons of publicity.