In related hip hop marketing news, Reebok's UK ad featuring 50 Cent taking an unapologetic stance for his past has been attacked for glorifying violence. It's difficult to argue with such concerns at a time when those of us who feel a part of hip hop culture beyond simple consumption of merchandise are debating the same issues. However, Chairman Bill Brown of the Disarm Trust "described the campaign as 'irresponsible and despicable' and added: 'It is preying on young impressionable black males.'" Not being familiar with UK hip hop demographics, I can only say that, in the U.S., young impressionable white males might be a big concern as well, given that there are so many of the young critters and they buy so much hip hop merch. I won't even get into the fact that it's a condescending statement about young black males.

The 50 Cent spot is one of many in Reebok's huge I Am What I Am Campaign that launched in February and, though Popeye was unavailable, features multiple stars including Jay-Z, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming and Lucy Liu. Adrants links to an online video of 50's spot and, though I am deeply concerned about violence in hip hop, I think it's a great ad. Of course, I'm concerned about violence in general, yet I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood and tv shows like Deadwood, so go figure.

Oddly enough, as I listened to the string of numbers indicating the number of times 50 Cent was shot, I flashed on the Rodney King incident and a Senator, I think, counting off numbers using pencil taps to illustrate how many times King was hit by those cops with their batons. I'm not saying this spot is great art, but it's certainly both provocative and evocative and that's what I look for in art and advertising.

I'm currently working on a piece that expands on my previous posts related to 50 Cent and recent news, Hip Hop Shooting: Follow the Money, Not the Macho and a Part 2. So I'm finding a lot of great stuff on 50 Cent the businessman as well as his comments on media obsession with the fact that he was shot 9 times, an obsession that initially went far beyond his own use of the past as marketing fodder.

He states:
"As an artist, you write about where you come from and who you are . . . The fact that I was shot nine times almost overshadowed the fact that I could make a hit record. I said to them over and over that the hardest thing to deal with was not being shot, but having to deal with what I was going to do with my life after I was shot."