Educ 6810 - Media Messages and Critical Pedagogy #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYofm5d5Xdw

This message is from Cheerios.  Cheerios paid for it and probably created it as well.  

The target audience of this commercial looks to be any family - low, middle, or upper class.  Anyone who eats cereal, Cheerios to be exact.  The age, ethnicity, class, profession, interests can be anyone at all.  The main focus of this commercial in particular would be people with heart problems. 

The words of the little girl makes it known that her father may have heart conditions. We see a biracial little girl.  To some people this may cause an uproar; however, this is reality of today's society.  The mother is white, while the father is black.  We see this little girl asking her mother questions about the health  targets of Cheerios.  We then hear the mother letting her know that Cheerios are indeed great for the heart.  At the end of the commercial we see the that the little girl placed Cheerios on her father's heart. 

I feel that the unstated meaning is that this little girl has heard other commercials and her father talk about how Cheerios are good for the heart.  The little girl is obviously worried about her father's heart; therefore, believing that if she puts the cereal next to his heart, he will get better.  When we know that we must eat the Cheerios for this to happen.  The lifestyle seems to be middle class; however, it is also a biracial family.  In my mind, this is one hundred percent okay and not an issue.  However, in today's society this is still a problem in many peoples minds.  It is an issue for some; therefore, some of the audience of this commercial would feel that they are incorrect for using this.
Also, the underlying or untold story here is dealing with the healthiness of cheerios.  This makes us want to do our own research and to find out if Cheerios are really healthy for you, especially to the heart.  After researching, we can see that yes, Cheerios are good for your health; therefore, realizing that more people should eat them.  The main reason for using the biracial family is to let people know that Cheerios is for any audience.  Cheerios are good for anyone no matter the race, gender, or any other reasons.

The values in this commercial are family, love, happiness, and healthiness.  It is greatly shown in every part of this ad.  I feel that association and plain folk are two great tools of persuasion that are used in this commercial.  The positive messages that are presented are that family is important.  Also, that Cheerios are great for your health, especially the heart.  Another positive message is that children need to be aware of all things around them.  The negative messages are not as important to me, as well as many others.  However, the only negative message I can see that may be is the fact that it is a biracial family.  This is not negative nor an issue to many; however, may be an issue to others.  

This message empowers family oriented people, people with heart problems, and people that eat healthy breakfasts.  It disempowers those who may not enjoy cereal.  The part of the story that looks to be untold is what is actually wrong with the father.  Also, does he have heart problems, or is she just being cautious.   

The taken for granted realities are the biracial families.  It is embarrassing that people only see this commercial as offending and not for the love of family, love, and health.  I feel that this is a great ad; however, there are many people that would disagree.  I am saying this because I have seen this commercial on social networks where people have commented complaints, horrible opinions, and threats that it needs taken off the television screens.