By . Matt Blake . PUBLISHED: . 07:50 EST, 31 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:50 EST, 2 June 2013 . Cheerios has become embroiled in a race row after it released a national television advert of an interracial family enjoying the oat-based breakfast cereal. The cereal-maker was forced to shut down the video's comment board on its site after it was inundated with a torrent of racist abuse. Some online commenters were so offended by the concept of a happy mixed-race family that they said the advert made them 'want to vomit'. The touching short features a mixed-race girl asking her white mother if Cheerios are good for the heart before running out of the kitchen when she is told that they are. The shot then cuts to her black father awaking from a nap on the sofa to find a pile of Cheerios on his chest. Idiotic comments: While it is now impossible to verify any of the comments submitted, AdWeek reported that the comment section contained numerous references to Nazis, 'troglodytes' and 'racial genocide' Multicultural: The shot then cuts to her black father awaking from an afternoon nap on the sofa to find a pile of Cheerios on his chest . While it is now impossible to verify any of the comments submitted, AdWeek reported that the comment section contained numerous references to Nazis, 'troglodytes' and 'racial genocide'. The Huffington Post reported that some commenters on the cereal's Facebook page also said they found the commercial 'disgusting' and that it made them 'want to vomit'. One man expressed shock that a black father would stay with his family, writing: 'More like single parent in the making. Black dad will dip out soon.' A stream on Reddit went off on a debate about the accuracy or likelihood of the mixed-race family being made up of a black man and a white woman rather than a black woman and white man. Adorable: The touching short features a mixed-race girl asking her white mother if Cheerios are good for the heart before running out of the kitchen when she tells her it does . Happy with her job: Whitney Avalon plays the mom in the ad and she has been featured in 47 national commercials . Mixed race couples undoubtedly appear more often in real life than they do on television though as the 2010 Census reports that it is becoming a bigger population and may reflect in marketing trends. The census reported that nearly seven per cent of all married couple households in the United States feature partners of more than one race or ethnicity. The percentage doubles when you include unmarried co-habitating couples, as 14 per cent of those are mixed race. Others thought that it was a marketing ploy to drum up good publicity for the company rather than having any true emotional meaning behind the ad. All over the country: The 2010 Census showed that there are more mixed race couples in the western United States than in the east but there are couples throughout . 'It has nothing to do with the company, the point is some casting agency/marketing department wanted a Carl Winslow, stereotypical upper/middle class white housewife, and a mixed girl,' one Reddit user wrote. This is not the first time that Cheerios has sparked a race controversy, as a previous ad featuring two black siblings and their father received numerous racist comments. In the June 2012 spot, the older brother steals the majority of his high chair-bound sibling's cereal. 'Just goes to show you they start steeling [sic] at an early age!!! First Cheerio's next bikes then cars lol just like in real life,' one Youtube user wrote in the comments. 'Thinking outside the box is not an advertising M.O., their goal is to grab the widest audience's attention. And that demographic is generally filled with the same artards that say they're down with interracial couples as long as their offspring don't become a part of one.' However, despite the string of ugly comments made on YouTube and Facebook, many were quick to defend the advert, made by Saatchi & Saatchi in New York. Kevin . Mueller added on Facebook: 'Every tv station in the US should play your . bi-racial ad during every commercial break [...] Time to help everybody . find their way to 2013 since some are still stuck about 60 years [in . the past]. Keep up the good work Cheerios!' The vice president of marketing for Cheerios released a statement defending the ad after the backlash. 'Consumers have responded positively to . our new Cheerios ad. At Cheerios, we know there are many kinds of . families and we celebrate them all,' Camille Gibson said in the statement. Whitney . Avalon, the actress who plays the mother in the 30-second spot, has . been featured in 47 national commercials and she felt the need to come . out in support of the ad. She posted on Twitter that she was 'proud to play the mom in this adorable @Cheerios commercial!'
Mixed-race girl asking her white mother is cereal is good for the heart .
Then cuts to black father waking up on sofa with pile of Cheerios on chest .
Cereal-maker forced to shut down the video's comment board after racist abuse .
Commenters on cereal's Facebook page said ad made them 'want to vomit'
But many others praised advert for modern view of American family life .
The ad is running on national television and has been posted online .
By . Matt Blake . PUBLISHED: . 07:50 EST, 31 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:50 EST, 2 June 2013 . Cheerios has become embroiled in a race row after it released a national television advert of an interracial family enjoying the oat-based breakfast cereal. The cereal-maker was forced to shut down the video's comment board on its site after it was inundated with a torrent of racist abuse. Some online commenters were so offended by the concept of a happy mixed-race family that they said the advert made them 'want to vomit'. The touching short features a mixed-race girl asking her white mother if Cheerios are good for the heart before running out of the kitchen when she is told that they are. The shot then cuts to her black father awaking from a nap on the sofa to find a pile of Cheerios on his chest. Idiotic comments: While it is now impossible to verify any of the comments submitted, AdWeek reported that the comment section contained numerous references to Nazis, 'troglodytes' and 'racial genocide' Multicultural: The shot then cuts to her black father awaking from an afternoon nap on the sofa to find a pile of Cheerios on his chest . While it is now impossible to verify any of the comments submitted, AdWeek reported that the comment section contained numerous references to Nazis, 'troglodytes' and 'racial genocide'. The Huffington Post reported that some commenters on the cereal's Facebook page also said they found the commercial 'disgusting' and that it made them 'want to vomit'. One man expressed shock that a black father would stay with his family, writing: 'More like single parent in the making. Black dad will dip out soon.' A stream on Reddit went off on a debate about the accuracy or likelihood of the mixed-race family being made up of a black man and a white woman rather than a black woman and white man. Adorable: The touching short features a mixed-race girl asking her white mother if Cheerios are good for the heart before running out of the kitchen when she tells her it does . Happy with her job: Whitney Avalon plays the mom in the ad and she has been featured in 47 national commercials . Mixed race couples undoubtedly appear more often in real life than they do on television though as the 2010 Census reports that it is becoming a bigger population and may reflect in marketing trends. The census reported that nearly seven per cent of all married couple households in the United States feature partners of more than one race or ethnicity. The percentage doubles when you include unmarried co-habitating couples, as 14 per cent of those are mixed race. Others thought that it was a marketing ploy to drum up good publicity for the company rather than having any true emotional meaning behind the ad. All over the country: The 2010 Census showed that there are more mixed race couples in the western United States than in the east but there are couples throughout . 'It has nothing to do with the company, the point is some casting agency/marketing department wanted a Carl Winslow, stereotypical upper/middle class white housewife, and a mixed girl,' one Reddit user wrote. This is not the first time that Cheerios has sparked a race controversy, as a previous ad featuring two black siblings and their father received numerous racist comments. In the June 2012 spot, the older brother steals the majority of his high chair-bound sibling's cereal. 'Just goes to show you they start steeling [sic] at an early age!!! First Cheerio's next bikes then cars lol just like in real life,' one Youtube user wrote in the comments. 'Thinking outside the box is not an advertising M.O., their goal is to grab the widest audience's attention. And that demographic is generally filled with the same artards that say they're down with interracial couples as long as their offspring don't become a part of one.' However, despite the string of ugly comments made on YouTube and Facebook, many were quick to defend the advert, made by Saatchi & Saatchi in New York. Kevin . Mueller added on Facebook: 'Every tv station in the US should play your . bi-racial ad during every commercial break [...] Time to help everybody . find their way to 2013 since some are still stuck about 60 years [in . the past]. Keep up the good work Cheerios!' The vice president of marketing for Cheerios released a statement defending the ad after the backlash. 'Consumers have responded positively to . our new Cheerios ad. At Cheerios, we know there are many kinds of . families and we celebrate them all,' Camille Gibson said in the statement. Whitney . Avalon, the actress who plays the mother in the 30-second spot, has . been featured in 47 national commercials and she felt the need to come . out in support of the ad. She posted on Twitter that she was 'proud to play the mom in this adorable @Cheerios commercial!'
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