Copyranter and Not That Kind of Girl criticized a Hornitos commercial for depicting the deviant tactics of a twin brother duping his sibling’s girlfriend into having intercourse. Both bloggers categorized the evil twin as a rapist, prompting comments defending the spot via the stereotypical “Lighten up” perspective. Plus, Google-degreed lawyer wannabes declared the scenario does not constitute rape. The legal debates are semi-pointless, as the event is only a sales-oriented dramatization—although Biblical scholars might opine that Jesus’ statement regarding lust in one’s heart equaling adultery sorta makes the Hornitos villain a Ten Commandments violator.
The Hornitos commercial does clearly demonstrate an issue often examined by MultiCultClassics: advertising agencies avoiding responsibility for committing heinous social crimes. That is, Hornitos will and should catch heat for the awful message, while its agency gets off scot free. The insensitivity and cultural cluelessness of Madison Avenue is never publicly acknowledged—or even recognized, for that matter. Heaven forbid adpeople might see and/or admit to their collective ignorance.
The advertising agency culprit here is Euro RSCG Chicago. Now, the cries of rape may be questionable with the Hornitos spot characters. However, there is a body of evidence to build a rock-solid case against the Euro hacks, easily warranting culturally clueless charges that would lead to an immediate conviction. (Plus, some of the defensive comments at Copyranter and Not That Kind of Girl were surely typed by Euro employees.) And Euro is arguably raping Hornitos by billing the spirits company for unprofessional and brand-damaging work.
Fortunately for the corporate criminals at Euro and other stupid agencies, clients have not yet seriously considered pursuing the concept of marketing malpractice.
1 comment:
Marketing Malpractice. Ahhh, I like that! You should make that one of your annual awards.
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