Enough with mafia-themed commercials.

[TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW]

I really hate our cultural fascination with the mafia, the way that we romanticize or otherwise give organized crime and murder the o.k. I don't like dramatic representations of mafia activity like the Godfather films and "The Sopranos," but I can't stand the use of mafia bullshit in modern advertising. It seems like lately, with the success of "The Sopranos" in particular, there's a glut of mafia-based commercials for common products.

The latest, and most offensive, features a mafia guy talking to the camera about whatever product is being advertised while in the background, an about-to-be-murdered woman writhes and struggles while wrapped in a carpet. You can hear her muffled cries and screams as her feet kick and she struggles while this smug mafia fuck smirks at the camera.

When did this become acceptable? If Sprint decided to base a new commercial around a pedophile with his pants around his ankles while a six-year-old girl cries on a bed in the background, would it be "cute" or "funny?" Would it be good advertising? People would be outraged, yet there's nary a peep about these mafia commercials in which people are about to be murdered by mafia thugs. I can't even get my head around it, it's that offensive.

A recent Red Bull commercial (man about to be murdered by drowning at the hands of mafia thugs drinks red bull and flies away, so everything's hunky-dory) and a cell phone commercial (man about to be brutally murdered in a remote location by mafia criminals is delighted at the great reception that his cell phone gets) immediately spring to mind, but there are even more out there - I remember another recent one that had something to do with an about-to-be-murdered snitch's cell phone PDA functions being brought into play.

Mafia members are petty, ignorant thugs whose very existence goes against everything that our society is based around - subverting and usurping basic laws of decency and making a living through intimidation and coercion of innocent people. This shit is offensive, and I'm tired of seeing it getting the wink-wink nudge-nudge treatment on television.

[friedo]

Dark humor is, and always has been, very popular. There's no reason not to use it for a commercial; funny campaigns tend to be the most sucessful.

Of course, there's a significant demographic of uptight dweebs who are shocked (shocked!) that anyone could make light of such horrible things. They always have the option of not buying the product.

Now, how about some holocaust and dead baby jokes?

What's the best way to load a thousand dead babies onto a pickup truck?

SPOILER:

With a pitchfork!

[TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW]

But dead baby jokes aren't used to sell Pepsi. Pedophile humor isn't used to convince you to switch to Vonage. A woman doesn't hilariously use her Toyota Prius to stop a brutal rape. The latest Old Navy commercial isn't based around the "Aristocrats" joke.

Hilariously offensive humor has its place, but not in mainstream commercials for middle-america. What is it about Mafia thugs brutally murdering people that gets a free pass?

[Bryan Ekers]

Gotta admit, that Nike ad with champion runner (and potential sports-bra model) Suzy Hamilton escaping the chainsaw-swinging maniac always cracked me up.

[FinnAgain]

Originally Posted by friedo

What's the best way to load a thousand dead babies onto a pickup truck?

[Hijack]

I've always heard that joke told:
What's the difference between a truck full of bowling balls, and a truck full of dead babies?

SPOILER:

You can't get the bowling balls out with a pitchfork.

[/hijack]

[Gala Matrix Fire]

I agree with VC03 word for word.

[Siege]

I'm in, as well. You know, the Christian Right goes all up in arms over any depiction of homosexuality; they (or at least enough of them to get news coverage) objected to the Harry Potter books; I've even got a local bishop and priest objecting to The Davinci Code. Why doesn't anyone speak up and say anything about The Sopranos and these mafia themed ads? Are murder, violence, and cruelty more acceptable? I know I'm weird, but I just don't get it.

:Shrug: At least I do get and like dead baby jokes.

[Dr. Rieux]

How about the cheesesteak restaurants that have sprung up around here--apparently a chain?
They're called "Corleone's" after a fictional NY crime family.
Their slogan is "A Philly Hit.'
Thier logo features a likeness of onetime Chicago boss Al Capone.

[madmonk28]

I had an Italian colleague who couldn't understand America's love of the Mafia. He thought it was bizarre that we had turned them into loveable cartoonish characters. Someohow the fact that it's a Mafia character in these commercials makes it safe. You couldn't shoot the exact same commercial frame for frame with any other type of thug and get the laugh.

[cuauhtemoc]

I agree with the OP. I hope I live to see the day when this culture stops romanticizing da' mob. The fact that I'm an American of Italian descent might make me a little more sensitive to it. Not enough to go out protesting with signs and chants about these commercials, but enough to make me roll my eyes and cringe inwardly when I see stuff like that.

[elmwood]

Originally Posted by VCO3

The latest, and most offensive, features a mafia guy talking to the camera about whatever product is being advertised while in the background, an about-to-be-murdered woman writhes and struggles while wrapped in a carpet. You can hear her muffled cries and screams as her feet kick and she struggles while this smug mafia fuck smirks at the camera.

Of course, there wouldn't be a problem if it was a mafia gal with a man struggling inside a rolled-up carpet, right?

[pool]

Maybe its ok because organized crime of this type with the Italians, etc is largely becoming a thing of the past. I remember seeing some news article about how these crime bosses even more contemporary ones like Gotti are becoming less and less frequent.

[Siege]

Tell that to the Sicilians who recently arrested a mob boss they'd been after for 15 years. I'm not sure the mob is any less of a threat than it once was.

[pool]

http://www.search-international.com/...fiaamerica.htm


I will try to find some more links

[CalMeacham]

How about the cheesesteak restaurants that have sprung up around here--apparently a chain?
They're called "Corleone's" after a fictional NY crime family.
Their slogan is "A Philly Hit.'
Thier logo features a likeness of onetime Chicago boss Al Capone.

The associations go back a lot farther than that. Remember Godfather's Pizza, a chain dating back to the late 1970's?





I had a friend who objected to all this before The Godfather. He found the musical Guys and Dolls offensive. And the later Legs Diamond.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

First, I'm not really sure how The Sopranos fits into this. The show doesn't really miss an opportunity to remind you what psychopaths the mobsters are, and it's hard for me to imagine anyone wanting to trade places with Tony. They're romantic and charismatic, but they drip evil.

Second, America loves a rebel, and we've always romanticized the person who can get away with it, from Jesse James to Tony Soprano.

Third, I've not seen these commercials, so I'll shut up.

Daniel

[ultrafilter]

Originally Posted by VCO3

The latest Old Navy commercial isn't based around the "Aristocrats" joke.

Shame, really. It'd far outshine every other ad campaign they've ever done.

[TVeblen]

This is a rant but a fairly tame one. Given the subject matter, off to Cafe Society it goes...

[ScoobyTX]

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

The associations go back a lot farther than that. Remember Godfather's Pizza, a chain dating back to the late 1970's?

Pizza you can't refuse (do you want to end up sleeping with the fishes at the Arthur Treacher's down the block?).

The Godfather (I and II, anyway) portrayed the mafia as an American story (immigrant child with nothing makes good while contributing his Sicilian traditions to the melting pot- justifying the violence by saving it for less honorable rivals- dope dealers, ephebophile film producers, crooked politicians, etc.). The Sopranos portrays the mafia in a more realistic fashion. Although Tony and his guys are the protagonists, they are portrayed as overgrown schoolyard bullies writ large. The boss is an emotional wreck due to a mentally ill mother. His current and former captains are, for the most part, clowns (Paulie- mama's boy with "wings" in his hair, Vito- rotund closet case, Ralphie- sexual deviant, bald with flamboyant wig, Sil- the most "normal" family man, who spends his days and nights as a pimp, etc.). Other characters are similarly clownish: Artie- high school buddy of Tony, seems to be going through a decade-long mid-life crisis, fantasizing about every hostess he hires (despite having a pretty hot, yet shrill and controlling, wife); Little Carmine- "minorly retarded" scion of one of the "five families," can't get through a sentence without a malapropism; all of the wives- sexually frustrated, they spend the majority of their time eating, gossiping, and wooing a priest; "innocent victims"- mostly degenerate gamblers or johns, also includes people that voluntarilly jumped in bed with the mob when they needed a favor, such as the Hassidic motel owners, etc.; Truly innocent victims aren't shown too often, except to illustrate the sociopathology of the mobsters, such as the bakery clerk shot in the foot by Chrissy (a nod to Goodfellas, Chrissy was pissed that he was skipped in line in favor of a guy that looks just like Vito, because he was played by the same actor).

If pedophilia had inspired a whole genre of American film and TV entertainment, there would probably be humorous commercials with clownish pedophiles selling products. As it is, pedophilia is only rarely used to humorous effect: Jesus, in The Big Lebowski ('Eight year olds, dude." and a dejected-looking John Turturro ringing the doorbell to inform his neighbors that a pedophile is in the neighborhood) is the only example I can think of off-hand. If it were a more popular topic for humor, we'd have pedophiles in ads for Good Humor ice cream and window-less Econoline vans ("big enough for an entire Little League team, with all the privacy you demand").

[Excalibre]

Originally Posted by VCO3

When did this become acceptable? If Sprint decided to base a new commercial around a pedophile with his pants around his ankles while a six-year-old girl cries on a bed in the background, would it be "cute" or "funny?"

I'm laughing already! "I can't call Mommy for help, because I'm already over my minutes for this month!" "Switch to Sprint, where night-time calling starts at seven pm! OR YOUR CHILDREN WILL SUFFER!"

[ddgryphon]

http://www.niaf.org/image_identity/ppSpring2004.asp

http://www.niaf.org/news/index.asp?id=302

http://www.nyscsj-osia.org/events.htm

Well, that's all I got.

[OneCentStamp]

Originally Posted by VCO3

The latest, and most offensive, features a mafia guy talking to the camera about whatever product is being advertised while in the background, an about-to-be-murdered woman writhes and struggles while wrapped in a carpet. You can hear her muffled cries and screams as her feet kick and she struggles while this smug mafia fuck smirks at the camera.

And what is it, specifically, that makes the mafia cute and cuddly, or makes this kind of depiction acceptable?

Picture the same commercial described above, only the man in the foreground is an African-American fellow with corn rows, an oversized throwback basketball jersey, and a Tec-9 stuffed down the front of his waistband. Switch "gansgster" for "gangsta," and the ad campaign would last about 15 seconds before making some attorneys very rich.

[Ca3799]

I've never understood that mafia attraction, either. All I need is a hint of mafia stuff to turn the channel, pass up the book, etc.

[Evil Captor]

I'm generally agreeable with people portraying anything they like in fictional terms. But I also hate the way the Mafia is romanticized. These are people who rob and kill for money. I wouldn't CENSOR the films of Scorsese -- the idiot who made Goodfellas and Casino and so forth, but if I met him face to face, I'd have no problem calling him an asshole and giving him an earful of my opinion of him and his movies.

[DxZero]

Originally Posted by Evil Captor

I'm generally agreeable with people portraying anything they like in fictional terms. But I also hate the way the Mafia is romanticized. These are people who rob and kill for money. I wouldn't CENSOR the films of Scorsese -- the idiot who made Goodfellas and Casino and so forth, but if I met him face to face, I'd have no problem calling him an asshole and giving him an earful of my opinion of him and his movies.

Uh....romanticized? Presumbly ending up in the witness protection program with a cocaine addiction(Goodfellas) or facedown in a ditch(Casino) is romantic.

You might have that arguement with The Godfather, but Scorsese's mob films don't particularly go out of their way to highlight the benefits of organized crime.

[handsomeharry]

Originally Posted by OneCentStamp

And what is it, specifically, that makes the mafia cute and cuddly, or makes this kind of depiction acceptable?

Picture the same commercial described above, only the man in the foreground is an African-American fellow with corn rows, an oversized throwback basketball jersey, and a Tec-9 stuffed down the front of his waistband. Switch "gansgster" for "gangsta," and the ad campaign would last about 15 seconds before making some attorneys very rich.

yep, the attorneys that make the contract for the actors and the pr company that made the commercial. the only thing that would actually keep this commercial from being made (no pun intended, but certainly accepted) is that nobody in their right mind would show a gun on a tv commercial.
hh

[amarinth]

Originally Posted by OneCentStamp

And what is it, specifically, that makes the mafia cute and cuddly, or makes this kind of depiction acceptable?

Perhaps it's that it's something that in many of our minds happens elsewhere and to other people ("Tragedy is I stub my toe. Comedy is you fall in a manhole and die."). Many people people have fears (rational or irrational) about their kids being molested; I would guess that a very much smaller group of people have fears about ending up on the wrong side of organized crime.
So while technically they know that the people in these situations are in danger - they're not really identifying with the victims and putting themselves in that place. They would really identify with some of the other scenarios.

[woodstockbirdybird]

Originally Posted by Evil Captor

I'm generally agreeable with people portraying anything they like in fictional terms. But I also hate the way the Mafia is romanticized. These are people who rob and kill for money. I wouldn't CENSOR the films of Scorsese -- the idiot who made Goodfellas and Casino and so forth, but if I met him face to face, I'd have no problem calling him an asshole and giving him an earful of my opinion of him and his movies.

And he'd laugh, because obviously the opinion you'd give him an earful of would be uninformed if you think either of those movies romanticize the mafia.

[OneCentStamp]

Originally Posted by handsomeharry

yep, the attorneys that make the contract for the actors and the pr company that made the commercial. the only thing that would actually keep this commercial from being made (no pun intended, but certainly accepted) is that nobody in their right mind would show a gun on a tv commercial.
hh

You think? I would think the NAACP or some similar organization would be up in arms immediately about some supposed depiction of all blacks as violent thugs.

[Menocchio]

Originally Posted by OneCentStamp

You think? I would think the NAACP or some similar organization would be up in arms immediately about some supposed depiction of all blacks as violent thugs.

Nope. The commercial as described (minus the gun) could be an add for Boost mobile, or any five minutes of MTV. The only problem is "body in carpet" doesn't match as cleanly to "gangsta" as it does to "mafioso". They'd have to find some other act of implied but non-graphic violence.

[RogueRacer]

Originally Posted by VCO3

This shit is offensive, and I'm tired of seeing it getting the wink-wink nudge-nudge treatment on television.

No, the shit is offensive to you. I always found that purple dinosaur offensive, but that didn't get it off the networks any sooner. Fortunately, I'm not forced to watch. It's pretty simple really. Don't buy the product that the commercial is selling.

As far as movies and shows romanticizing the mafia, as mentioned earlier, the examples given were pretty poor. Still, even if they do romanticize the mafia, what of it? Should they be pulled from the theaters and store shelves? Look at a lot of war movies. How about Westerns? Do you think they don't romanticize? If you want to start yelling at writers and directors, eat a big breakfast that day because it's a long list.

I find most romantic comedies offensive. A lot of sitcoms are the spawn of Satan. Although there are times that I could spend hours railing against an unfair universe that allows them to exist, instead I just don't watch them.

[Bryan Ekers]

Originally Posted by RogueRacer

No, the shit is offensive to you. I always found that purple dinosaur offensive, but that didn't get it off the networks any sooner.

You thought Dino was offensive?

[ExTank]

I like mob movies, and The Sopranos. Not because they idealize and romanticize the Italian mob, but because they illustrate human virtues (familial and fraternal love, loyalty, honor) that are twisted to human vice (greed, lust, betrayal).

Anyone who sees movies like The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Casino, as well as a show like The Sopranos as "romantic" or "idealized" are only getting about half the message.

As to when it became okay to use mob/OC intimated violence in commercials... well, blame The Sopranos. The elements of dark humor were added to the mafia image with that show.

And rather I like that cell commercial (inasmuch as I like any commercials) where the bad guys are thrilled to get cell coverage out in the middle of nowhere; but I saw it more as a spoof of cheesy crime movies rather than a mafia send-up. I guess the gist is the same, though.

[Evil Captor]

Originally Posted by woodstockbirdybird

And he'd laugh, because obviously the opinion you'd give him an earful of would be uninformed if you think either of those movies romanticize the mafia.

But they do. Granted, they show the mafiosa as unrepentant killers. Joe Pesci in Casino being a great example. But the Robert DeNiro character was pretty much a hero type, although he had minor flaws. Like being willing to torture and mutilate people who tried to beat the system in his Casino. Or the Ray Liotta character in Goodfellas is really glamorized ... he's got a loving wife AND a hot, loving mistress (played by Debi Mazar, mmmmmm), he's got a ton of money, dresses sharp, most of the time he isn't committing crimes he's hanging out with his buddies at a club, and the crimes he commits are really easy ("two ni**rs stole my truck!")

Sure he comes to a bad end, living a quiet life in suburbia after ratting out DeNiro and Sorvino's characters, but I think it's really funny that you guys don't think that's a GLAMORIZATION of people who are cruel scum who have no problem with killing, robbing and beating up other people.