General Mills has said it will not withdraw its Cheerios cereal advert in the US, despite a backlash by some consumers due to its interracial cast.
The US cereal giant released the commercial across national television early last week, followed by an upload of the ad to YouTube days later.
The advert, which features a white mother and black father, reportedly incensed around 700 viewers on YouTube, which attracted a number of “vitriolic” and “overtly racist” comments, according to The New York Times.
General Mills has since removed and disabled the comments from YouTube and said it stands by the commercial. A spokesperson told just-food it would not be pulling the advert.
Camille Gibson, vice president of marketing for Cheerios, said: “Consumers have responded positively to our new Cheerios ad. At Cheerios, we know there are many kinds of families and we celebrate them all.”
