Christmas commercials often revolve around common themes such as family, love, and giving.
This heartwarming spot from Cheerios dating back to 1999 is one of the most memorable holiday ads produced by the company. And thanks to a viral TikTok, that commercial just got a 2020 revamp.
The original version featured a grandmother, played by actress Peggy Miley, having a conversation with an infant sitting in a high chair, her granddaughter.
The ad opens with the grandma telling the baby she wanted to be with her on her first Christmas and how she came a long way to do that.
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She then uses a few pieces of Cheerios to represent cities and show the infant where their relatives lived throughout the United States. The baby—who was clearly uninterested—looked exasperated. With every “city” that grandma placed on her high chair, she tried so hard to grab or eat one piece – she really just wanted to snack on some cereal!
The hungry infant gets her wish towards the end as her grandma made a heartwarming promise: “But no matter where Grandma lives, we’ll always be together for Christmas.”
The ad’s underlying message was the importance of being with your family during the holidays.
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That memorable commercial inspired TikTok personality Cori Spruiell to come up with an idea for a reboot. This time, however, the commercial’s theme will be based on the world’s current socially-distanced situation.
“I’m making myself cry over this Christmas commercial idea I just had. So, if you work for General Mills, please, please make this happen,” Spruiell says on the TikTok clip.
She then proceeds to recap the 1999 commercial before pitching her idea of a new version where the grandma and baby, now grown, will connect over a video call because of COVID-19. See it here.
Cheerios heeded her call and promised to make it happen by commenting on Spruiell’s TikTok, “This idea has us buzzing… stay tuned.”
“Our team was really excited when we saw her post because we felt like it was such a true insight on what is going on today,” Taylor Roseberry, assistant brand experience manager for Cheerios, said in a company statement.
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“In re-watching that 1999 commercial, it brought back so much joy. We felt really inspired by it. So, we quickly pulled a group together to figure out how we could respond to Cori’s video.”
The brand released the new ad on December 18.
In the new spot, Miley (who hasn’t aged a bit!), is back with the now grown-up baby, Delfina Booth, to reprise their old roles. It starts with a close-up look at a Christmas tree ornament featuring an image of the original commercial from 21 years ago.
The scene then moves to Miley and Booth chatting over a video call with, of course, Cheerios by their side. Again, the ad closes with Miley’s iconic line.
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“I was too young to remember my experience filming the Cheerios holiday commercial, but I get the same warm feeling both re-watching the original commercial and participating in its recreation,” 21-year-old Booth, who is studying media at Georgia Tech, said in a statement.
“I can’t wait for fans’ reactions to the spot because while I’ve grown up, the importance of connecting with one’s loved ones has only gotten stronger.”
This holiday season will look a lot different this year given that we can’t be physically together with our loved ones. Nevertheless, let’s be thankful that we have modern technology to help us deal with the challenges of celebrating Christmas amid a pandemic.
Like the grandma and granddaughter duo in the Cheerios ad, we have to make do with video calls for now to stay connected with our families!
Watch the remake of the beloved 1999 commercial in the video below. What do you think of the reboot? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to share this story.