http://youtu.be/0P3x415BnXM
In celebration of Pride Month, General Mills, maker of the iconic and sugary Lucky Charms cereal, has launched a new commercial entitled “2014/Lucky To Be” (#LuckyToBe). The 53-second spot, now on YouTube, features a peppy banjo-infused track and a rainbow of colors that include, of course, a new marshmallow in the shape of a rainbow flag. The copy reads: “We don’t all look the same, believe the same things, or love the same people. And that’s a good thing. It makes our world interesting. Special. Beautiful. Magical. Let’s celebrate. Share how you make the world colorful (with each letter of the word ‘colorful’ in an assortment of Crayola crayon colors) with #LuckyToBe. The ad concludes with a series of examples and pictures of people purportedly showing their differences.
The ad, despite some very good intentions, doesn’t come out directly and say anything bold like #LuckyToBeGay – this is a kid’s cereal, after all – but it does advance the cause of equality and celebrates a refreshing spirit of individuality that has long been lacking in commercial ads.
Perhaps General Mills is trying, however coyly, to avoid the ire of Right Wing groups like One Million Moms, an off-shoot of the American Family Association, that went nearly apoplectic after Honey Grahams created a marketing campaign called “This is Wholesome” which featured a series of non-traditional families including two dads and their daughter. According to EdgeNewYork.com, “In March American Family Association off-shoot group One Million Moms called out the graham cracker company, saying in a statement: “Nabisco should be ashamed of themselves for their latest Honey Maid and Teddy Graham cracker commercial where they attempt to normalize sin. Right away it shows two men with a baby, followed by other families, and ends with different families pictured including the one with two dads. This commercial not only promotes homosexuality, but then calls the scene in the advertisement wholesome.”
Of course, it’s highly unlikely that these family-values type groups have yet protested the unhealthy levels of sugar that these kinds of cereals and snacks contain.
