Have you watched the Kraft/Heinz Macaroni and Cheese and shredded cheese commercials?
Let me tell you, I am very troubled by some of them! One in particular stands out. It is the “We’ll Sleep Here” commercial.
It starts with a rather obnoxious little 10-year-old girl sitting at the table with a disgusted look on her face and a plate of broccoli in front of her. She then angrily pushes her plate away from her. Her older brother is sitting next to her, but he doesn’t play a significant role in the commercial.
The parent exclaims, “No one leaves the table until you’re finished.” The girl crosses her arms and says, “Fine, we’ll sleep here.”
The commercial then cuts to a new batch of broccoli with cheese on it. Now everyone is eating with smiles on their faces while Enya is singing “Only Time.” So very soothing and beautiful. NOT!
There are other Kraft/Heinz commercials for Mac and Cheese/Cheese where the kids are equally undisciplined and in each circumstance the parents acquiesce. Well, these commercials don’t work for me at all!
If one wants to put cheese on broccoli so that the kids will eat it –great. Personally, I’m not sure that’s going to work.
Further, if a kid wants to occasionally eat “junk food” –it’s A- Ok with me. Let’s be clear: Kraft Mac and Cheese is junk food. If you don’t believe me –look at the ingredients:
PASTA PRODUCT (DURUM WHEAT FLOUR, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE)
CHEESE SAUCE MIX (WHEY, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, MILK, PALM OIL, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, MILKFAT, SALT, MALTODEXTRIN, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF CALCIUM CARBONATE, SODIUM TRIPHOSPHATE, MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES, DRIED BUTTERMILK, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, CREAM, LACTIC ACID, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, NONFAT DRY MILK, GUAR GUM, CHEESE CULTURE, WITH PAPRIKA, TURMERIC, AND ANNATTO ADDED FOR COLOR, ENZYMES, NATURAL FLAVOR, XANTHAN GUM); MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDES, SALT, MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES.)
One serving also has 510 mg of sodium.
I bet you think I dislike these commercials because of the lack of nutrition in the product. Well, you’re wrong. The reason is: I cannot believe that Kraft is encouraging kids to be obnoxious and parents to just give in to their whims. l certainly understand that on occasion, we’ve all “chosen our battles.” Sometimes, after a long day, it’s just easier for us! But these commercials don’t represent that.
Kraft is not doing parents a favor. It suggests that a child can be a brat and get what they want. It seems to say, “the brattier the better.” Again, that doesn’t work for me and it never happened in our home. Even as a grandparent, I can assure you, if Niccie behaved badly, she would NOT get want she wants. In children or adults, bad behavior does NOT get rewarded.
I’d like to redo the commercial.
Option 1 Same dinner scenario. The mom says, “OK, knock it off, you’re being a brat. I’m too tired to deal with you tonight.” Then she turns to her husband and says, “You deal with your two kids, I’m going to take a bath.” I was going to say, “I’m going to get a glass of wine,” but I suppose you can’t do that in a kid’s commercial.
Option 2 And this is my personal choice. When the daughter says, “Fine, we’ll sleep here,” then the next scene would show the two kids sleeping on the table the next morning. I’d probably then have them eat the damn broccoli from the night before.
Walter and I were tough parents. Jamie was a great son, but sometimes we had to reel him in. Niccie has always been a lovely young lady. But I have watched Jamie and Cheryl give her the “parent talk” in no uncertain terms.
Good parents sometimes have children who don’t turn out well. And bad parents sometimes have kids who learn what not to do as a parent. But I feel most confident that giving into a child’s little temper tantrums is not the answer.
Obviously, this struck a chord in me. I’d love to hear your opinion….maybe I’m just too old for this modern parenting. Let me know.
I agree with you 1000%, Tiffany
Your commercials are disgraceful teaching brat kids that THEY are in control! Kids should eat what the parent can provide! Parents take control of your children! That’s what’s wrong with our world today!!! Be a parent, parents call the shots; not the children! Take those terrible commercials off the air PLEASE!
You are right!! I had a problem with it also. As you said, it’s telling kids to be “bratty and rude” and you get whatever you want from your parents. She would have been sent from the table, still hungry, if she was in my house acting like that. No one likes bad kids, no matter how “cute” they may be on the outside. That behavior makes a cute kid very “ugly” in my opinion. Thanks Tiffany, for sharing. 🙂
Spot on. Kids will get away with whatever the parent allows. Stand up and be in charge of the kids instead of being a doormat. No child of mind would talk back like this commercial displays. My husband would just look at our kids and they knew to straighten up pronto or else.
I don’t know what Kraft is trying to sell, when I see this ad, I just want to slap the kid
This is my most hated commercial. My second most hated one is the one in which the mother is more interested in her cat than in her son who fell and is bleeding. She is sitting on the sofa with a purring cat on her shoulder; the voice of her son is heard saying he fell. She tells him to get a bandage, he says he’s bleeding and she tells him to grab 2, all while enjoying the contentment of her cat. Oh, and the Halloween commercial in which the little girl throws up at the table. What has happened to commercials??
I’m so happy to hear others feel the same way as I do. That kid would have sat there all night! She was so disrespectful and a defiant brat. Mommy smiles and makes another meal😑
REALLY!!!!!! Fry’s me every time I see the damn thing.
I just want to each into the TV and smack her across the face. Taolk about disrespect, no wonder kids today are the way the are. That would not have happened in my house. Also the same company chasing the kid around the house “one more bite” and the kid is yelling no. Go to bed hungry eat the broccoli for breakfast, no go to school hungry, broccoli for dinner. Its not about the food it s the obnoxious attitude on the bratty kid
yes yes yes. I thought I was alone in being disgusted by this. no wonder kids think its great to be brats.
The Kraft brat commercials are terrible. I stopped all Kraft products. Thanks for starting a post on it.
Same here. Kraft products are now off my shopping list. I can’t see why anyone would find their ads persuasive. Obnoxious is the word I would use. I can’t imagine my parents, especially my mother, tolerating behavior like that. Knowing my mom, I probably would be suddenly searching for my face, and find it around on the other side of my head! And THEN I would have been sent to my room hungry. The problem in the ad isn’t the child. It’s the parents who tolerate bad behavior. And the ad insinuating that they should.
I am so glad that I inquired if anyone was a offended as I was. I laughed so hard at Stampschick comment about what her mother would have done with her face.. After asking me if I had completely lost my mind, my black mother could have said anyone of the following: “Girl, I’ll slap you so hard you’ll think lightning struck you; “; “Girl, I’ll slap you into the middle of next week.” and here’s the topper. “Girl, I’ll slap all the black off of you.
I can’t stand this commercial because of that sassy mouthed little girl! No way would I have given in to her little threat!! I would’ve popped her in those little grown lips, made her eat every bit of that broccoli WITHOUT CHEESE, and made her sleep there like she threatened to do! I bet she’d think twice before sassing me again! And yes I am a mom of a very successful 37 yr old man who doesn’t sass me to this day!
Also, the actor playing the dad, is that Percy Daggs III, who played in Veronica Mars?
Totally agree with you Tiffany and I couldn’t have said it better.
I’m not purchasing Kraft products. The more companies like this get away with using this type of marketing, the more we, AND OUR CHILDREN, will continue to see. The more we see, the more ACCEPTABLE the behavior becomes and the harder our jobs are in raising our kids to be responsible, respectful and kind adults.
BOYCOTTING KRAFT.
Boy oh Boy, I am so glad others feel like I did when I watched the little brat girl tell her parents off. I too believe that Kraft should be removed from the shelves. Parents better get a grip on your kids, they may be our leaders in the future.
Despise this commercial. Add to the list the Eggos “dinosaur,” commercial. The little girl refuses to wear pants but will eat Eggos. “Get your wins where you can.” Again, Eggos aren’t exactly health food, and the little girl would wear pants if the parent was being a good parent. Children are increasingly running their families, and weak moms and dads are making that possible.