Cheerios Brings Back Biracial Family for Super Bowl Spot

Back in May 2013, Cheerios aired a commercial that featured a young, mixed girl and her Caucasian mother. In the spot Just Checking, the young character, who we would later come to know as “Gracie,” questions her mother about the benefits of Cheerios cereal on heart health.

As her mother dutifully reads off the copy which positions the brand as a heart-healthy breakfast choice, Gracie acquires a knowing expression and runs off with the box of cereal to her African American father who is asleep on the couch. The scene cuts to Gracie’s dad waking up to find a pile of Cheerios scattered across his chest (and heart) in an unexpected and cute ending.

Unfortunately, not everyone agreed that the commercial was endearing. After the spot aired on YouTube, the video received a slew of vitriolic comments that revealed the sad state of racial affairs in the United States and in the world in general. Many people took issue with Cheerios casting a mixed race family in 2013. People directed their hatred towards Gracie’s character, calling her every name in the book. Youtube was eventually forced to disable comments on the video, creating a media storm around the ad. The YouTube comments remain disabled to this day.

In the aftermath of the negative comments, a parody of the video was created to further push the racial message while addressing another hot topic – sexual orientation. Eat it Haters went viral and received an overwhelmingly positive response.  

  

On February 2, 2014 as part of the $4 million-per-spot media buy for the Super Bowl, Cheerios reintroduced us to Gracie and her family. The ad, simply titled Gracie was pre-released on January 28 and features Gracie sitting at the breakfast table with her father. Gracie’s dad uses Cheerios to illustrate the point that she is about to become a big sister. In the background, Gracie's mother looks up from the counter, revealing her pregnant midsection. While contemplating the prospect, Gracie confidently adds another Cheerio to the group of 4 to represent the puppy she hopes will join their family. As her father confirms that it’s a “deal,” her mother looks on skeptically. 

Bravo to Cheerios for revisiting a concept that had received such negative feedback and for truly owning their message!