Solution
Solution
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]
Author Note
racial married couple. Should Cheerios have been more sensitive to this cultural issue? How does
There is no longer a "public" policy that still champions the racist Jim Crow narrative that
explicitly outlawed or encouraged public scorn for mixed couples as this policy was ended with
the Civil Rights Movement. Therefore, Cheerios should have not needed to ascertain how their
multi-racial married couple would be perceived by the public as the majority of the public does
not openly advocate racism that overtly treats multi-racial couples or their children differently.
The question of whether Cheerios should have been more sensitive to this issue is "insulting" to
the company as well as to the general public. Cheerios took the appropriate action when racist
individuals who are a minority of the population chose to send hate mail to websites as well as
Cheerios because of the multi-racial couple and their children. The company doubled-down and
ran another commercial featuring a multi-racial couple during the biggest sporting event in
America, the Super Bowl. Any company that stands against racism and discrimination is being
sensitive to all races as a opposed to appeasing white racists who are upset that American
companies have led the way in racial progress by hiring diverse leaders and employees.
2. Explain a minimum of five cultural and social issues that affected the negative
The cultural and social issues that affected the negative responses are simply pure racism.
Other variables that enabled such a swift backlash by racist white Americans was the internet and
the anonymity associated with using the internet. The proliferation of the internet over the last 10
years has transformed how people interact with social media representing the primary meeting
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place for many people. Although there are many benefits with this approach, it does allow racist
individuals as well as "trolls" to infiltrate websites such as YouTube, which was where the bulk
This phenomenon occurs with almost all videos posted on the website, but whenever
there are minorities who have traditionally been subjected to racism such as Blacks, it is
increased tenfold. This is especially true when the topic is Black men with white wives as
America has historically been a racist country that has attempted to denigrate Black males. The
positive variable that can be taken from the ad is that the overwhelming majority of people who
saw the ad responded positively to the ad while the racists only represented a small fraction of
3. Do you believe that the ultimate effect of this uprising is totally negative? Include your
rationale.
It was proven that the small minority of racists who wanted to cause a large backlash
against racial progress failed miserably. The ad was positively received by 90% of consumers
according to Cheerios, and it was so popular that the company chose to run another ad during the
biggest sporting event in America, which is also broadcast across the globe, the Super Bowl.
Therefore, it was a positive example of how most people are not racist, and this was what the ad
sought to celebrate. The vice president of marketing, Camille Gibson, stated that the ad sought to
celebrate the many diverse kinds of families that buy Cheerios' products, and the ad
4. Recommend a strategy for Cheerios to implement now, taking into consideration the
Cheerios' did implement a strategy, which was to double-down and create another
positive ad that included multi-racial couples for the Super Bowl in 2013. The company only
needs to focus on their progressive consumers as there is no need to focus on the racist
individuals who were vehemently opposed to what is right. Fortunately, Cheerios decided to put
its brand in a good spotlight by sticking to their ad and actually providing another ad that
displayed its dedication to all consumers who purchase their products. Therefore, the company
was able to appeal to the masses by highlighting racial progress that has occurred in a country
with a history of overt and sickening white racism. Despite the minor racist backlash, over 90%
of the response toward the commercial was positive, which allowed the company to be seen as a
This gained General Mills Inc. consumers as minority business owners and consumers
developed a greater appreciation for the company, which can be utilized by the company to
References