Must admit to growing increasingly annoyed at the liberal defenders of the “controversial” Cheerios commercial featuring an interracial couple and their biracial daughter. From cartoons like the one above to parody videos, everyone is quick to reprimand the racist haters. Granted, the haters surely are ignorant idiots deserving condemnation. The liberal spankers, however, should look beyond the obvious targets to identify the more slippery villains in the scenario. That is, how would the new defenders of diversity react upon learning the advertising agency behind the spot—Saatchi & Saatchi—and the global industry it represents have a long history of intolerance and discrimination? Hell, the culturally clueless hiring practices continue to this very day. Additionally, advertisers such as Cheerios parent company General Mills have a long history of ignoring the exclusivity of their agency partners. The ad industry liberals condemning the haters are pretty questionable too, considering their lack of commitment and action in creating change in their own offices. It all inspired the commercial storyboard below (click on it to enlarge).
I've suspected for some time that S&S made this ad to pat themselves on the back, knowing full well, in all their whiteness, that it might create "feedback," with which they could further use to pat themselves on the back.
ReplyDeleteWhite guilt placated by "doing the right thing."