Kellogg’s Releases ‘Spirit Day’ Cereal To Combat LGBTQ Bullying, Angry Internet Users Respond
Kellogg’s recently partnered with gay-rights advocacy group GLAAD in an effort to combat bullying and raise awareness of LGBTQ issues, releasing a special-edition box in honor of Spirit Day. However, as Yahoo Lifestyle reports, some Twitter users are not pleased with the idea of a breakfast cereal being used as a tool to advocate LGBTQ acceptance.
You may have noticed the bright purple “All Together” boxes of Kellogg’s cereal on your store shelves. The commemorative boxes bring together the manufacturer’s most popular brands — Corn Flakes, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Raisin Bran, and Rice Krispies — in one box, with the label in different colors of the rainbow, referencing the symbol of the LGBTQ community.
In a statement, the Michigan company noted that bringing the cereals together is something of a metaphor for the idea of inclusiveness, which it is trying to celebrate with the limited-edition box.
“We all belong together. So for the first time in history, our famous mascots and cereals are offered exclusively together in the same box for All Together Cereal. It’s a symbol of acceptance no matter how you look, where you’re from or who you love. We believe that all people deserve an environment where they can be their best selves.”
At Kellogg Company, we're ALL TOGETHER taking a stand against bullying, and we're proud to support #SpiritDay. Get your limited edition box of ALL TOGETHER cereal at https://t.co/EB0eb3Z5Ob pic.twitter.com/DrsuHvG9KE
— Kellogg Company (@KelloggCompany) October 17, 2019
The box is getting mixed reactions on Twitter, with several users coming out in favor of the campaign, and others harshly criticizing.
“You have no idea how much this means to so many people!” one user wrote.
“This cereal will probably drive any political nut bag crazy,” a second commenter quipped.
This latter user’s prediction seems to have come true, as several Twitter commenters were angry and taken aback at the promotion.
https://twitter.com/sutton_finn/status/1184876991985545216
https://twitter.com/AmyHood8611/status/1185066939623841792
Kellogg’s Company has been proactive when it comes to LGBTQ issues. According to a 2018 blog post, the company received a perfect score (100 percent) for the eighth year in a row in 2018. The honor was given to them by the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality.
This is not the first time that a company’s foray into social consciousness has been met with anger and hostility. As Today reported at the time, back in 2013 Cheerios ran a commercial featuring a mixed-race child with a black father and a white mother. So hostile was the reaction that the company disabled the comments on the YouTube video of the commercial.
