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Grace Colbert

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The Resume

    Born in Oklahoma
    Starred in a General Mills commercial for Cheerios called 'Just Checking,' developed by the New York-based Saatchi & Saatchi ad firm (2013)
    Commercial set off an unintended backlash from racists on the internet who objected to the depiction of a mixed-race family
    Later appeared in second commercial released during the 2014 Super Bowl, titled 'Gracie,' indirectly addressing the controversy surrounding the original ad
    Video of the commercial went viral, attaining 300,000 views on YouTube within its first week (eventually accumulating 2 million)

Why she might be annoying:

    Her parents got her into runway modeling.
    How does a six-year old have such a good sense of cardiac intervention? (For real - she knows exactly where to put the cheerios!)
    The commercial she starred in set off an internet troll firestorm which got to be serious enough for the comments on YouTube to be disabled.
    Ad Week wryly noted that the original video's comment box had devolved into a racially charged flame war, with such hyperbolic buzz words being thrown out as 'Nazis,' 'troglodytes' 'racial genocide,' and the every day run-of-the-mill 'N-word' slurs.
    General Mills may have compromised the first commercial's biggest asset - the normalcy of an interracial family - by having the 'dad' address the elephant in the room for the Super Bowl commercial (explaining it to her with Cheerios).
    She gave an awkward MSNBC interview with her parents in which her earpiece kept slipping, making it difficult for her to answer questions.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was rightfully praised as 'adorable.'
    She is a huge fan of the movie 'Frozen.'
    She has appeared in commercials for AT&T and the National Resources Defense Council's Clean Water PSA.
    She unwittingly became the center of a national debate over the depiction of mixed-race households in mainstream advertising.
    As it was, her commercial was one of the first mainstream ones to depict a black/white family in such a manner.
    The racial smears over her appearance from internet trolls amounted to a form of cyber-bullying.
    She apparently believed that the unexpected attention her commercial received was on account of her 'great smile.'
    She helped promote Garcelle Beauvais' 'I Am...' children's book series, on social media (including one specifically dealing with mixed-race families).
    A widely circulated Olivia-style meme with her likeness read: 'All the problems in the world today - and you're mad 'cause my parents don't match?'
    General Mills CEO Camille Gibson released a statement saying: 'Consumers have responded positively to our new Cheerios ad. At Cheerios, we know there are many kinds of families, and we celebrate them all.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying