The Back of the Box

A Complaint to General Mills

Dear General Mills,

Contrary to how you assume I should be feeling after consuming your product, original Cheerios, I am not happy, because the back of the box is racially segregated. Though you have satisfied diversity in age, you are entirely ignoring diversity of culture. This is an extremely poor representation of the Canadian populace and I feel, even after more than a decade of purchasing this otherwise tasty cereal, that I can no longer continue adding it to my weekly grocery list. You might argue that the large image at the top depicts a family, and would be strange if all members were not homogeneous, but to this I would point out the many opportunitiesto present a person with Asian, Hispanic, African, or Indigeneous background, and I am flabbergasted to see how you could only come up with images of Caucasian people for all twelve individuals on the back of your box.
I would suggest, for the benefit of your sales, and your conscience, that you adjust the side all 8 year-olds stare at as they slurp down breakfast at 7am before school to represent a more realistic picture of the grade 3 classroom they'll soon be asleep in. Mexican-Canadians can be happy eating Cheerios too.

Sincerely,

An advocate of diversity, even on the back of the Cheerios box.

This letter of complaint was first posted to my facebook in hopes that others eating Cheerios around me would notice this crime against humanity and revolt in the style of the French - strike.



Dear Miss Farineau,

We have received your letter dated February 28, 2011, in which you have requested a racial diverse Cheerios box. We regret to inform you that a great amount of research has determined the packaging to be fully representative for the Canadian population. Based on Statistics Canada, visible minorities make up only 16.2% of Canada's population (2006). We apologize, as it happens that we have selected the other 83.8% of the population, representing diverse ethnic regions surrounding the Caucasus Mountains.

General Mills is a equal employer and follows the Canada's Employment Equity Act. We are not racist. Please accept these 2 free boxes of Cheerios redeemable at your local supermarket for any inconvienience this has caused.

Sincerely,
General Mills



Dear General Mills

Thank you for your extensive research into the matter, in which you no doubt employed a Caucasian to complete the task. The heavy Aryan tone to your response leads me to believe that you are effecting a Neo-Nazi regime and that your corporation is heralded by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Your flimsy attempts to mask this fact with labeling schemes such as "Multi-Grain" (read: Multi-Cultural) Cheerios are pathetic and offensive.

I refuse your offer of the two free boxes as the presence of your flaxen-haired devil children on the back will only serve to further my shame in having participated in increasing the shareholder value of your stock.

SIncerely,

Always a Champion of Justice



Dear Champion of Justice/Miss Farineau,

Thank you for your diligence in this matter. You are correct, there is a picture of multi coloured Cheerio's at the back of the box, which depict a harmonious gathering of all shades.
Other brands that depict the diversity of General Mills include the Green Giant brand of vegetables. He is obviously, wait for it, green.
We are also a proud supplier of Old El Paso, which serves your Mexican-Canadian population you speak of. We also have extended past the human realm to reach out to full-shaped dough people with our beloved Pilsbury brand.

Here are 2 free coupons for Green Giant vegetables, Old El Paso and Pilsbury items for you to redeem at your local grocery supermarket for any inconvenience this has caused.

Sincerely,
General Mills