By Chris Hoenig
A television ad for the iconic breakfast brand Cheerios featuring an interracial couple and their biracial daughter sparked an ugly rash of racist and insensitive comments.
The video touting Cheerios’ heart-healthy qualities and the brand’s place at the wholesome American breakfast table, which aired and was posted online last week, quickly drew more than 2 million hits on YouTube. But the site was forced to disable viewer comments after responses included references to Nazis and racial genocide. “We are a family brand and not all of the comments were family-friendly,” Camille Gibson, Vice President of Marketing for cereal maker General Mills, told USA Today. The racist comments on the ad were also spread virally across the web, including on the social website Reddit.
