Sunday, August 29, 2010
1800 Tequila Commercial
In this commercial by 1800 Tequila, Michael Imperioli acts as the spokesperson for the alcoholic drink. Michael Imperioli is best known for his role as Chris on the HBO series The Sopranos. The show is about the Italian mafia in New Jersey and all that they must deal with when living a criminal life. When people see the commercial they see an Italian man that is talking with a New Jersey accent and with an attitude that people mostly associate with a mobster. The fact that Imperioli is most known for his role as a mobster only intensifies this association. The commercial captures Imperioli's ability to portray a mafioso and focus on it in order to make the tequila seem cool because people want to live lives that are full of fun, money, sex, and all the other glamorous things the mob life seems the entail. However, this does not positively portray Italian people. Instead of using Imperioli's ability to act like a mafia member, they could use the camaraderie of Italian life and how important families are. They could show and Italian family party where they were all drinking 1800 Tequila. This would show Italians in a positive view and also show advertise their drink as a fun-inducing drink.
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I totally agree with you Derek that by using Michael Imperioli gives the impression of an Italian mobster. His role on the Sopranos is the highlight of his career, and he is portrayed in a negative way so he is also portrayed this way in the commercial. I really like your idea on how they should show the Italian people in a positive manner, not only would people be less offended, but it would be a more enjoyable commercial as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you mostly, but it can also be taken the opposite way. Maybe some Italian Americans feel like this commercial is very stereotypical and take offense to it. But I agree with your stance on the spokesman
ReplyDeleteOf course having famous actors portray their famous characters is an effective way of selling things. Next thing you know, Snooki will be selling pickles. I believe the cast of the New Jersey Shore has already created a spray tan. Italian Americans are furious with the abundance of trashy television popping up everywhere. New Jersey Shore and Real Housewives of NJ have been successful reality tv shows but many Italian American families and people go out of their way to try to break that stereotype
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