Not everyone grasps what's up with hip hop and marketing. Adrants, one of my favorite business blogs, made fun of the upcoming Pepsi dj campaign using a parody of African-American slang and speech patterns that will only anger me if I discuss it more fully. Let's just say I've seen it many times by people that just can't believe that hip hop has crossed over to the mainstream and don't seem to be able to keep up with such developments, though that's not necessarily the situation with Adrants. In any case, I'm trying to learn to not share my anger so freely. That's right, you'll have to pay for pure expressions of my righteous anger from now on!
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.
Article comments