The Propaganda in a Tea Party

Smirnoff Tea Pary Commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6XsIL0jIBI

There is no denying it. This commercial is controversial on every account. It degrades white women, it degrades black women, it degrades white men, it degrades black men. It has everything from preppy white women throwing themselves at preppy white men, to accusing rich New England white men of stealing money through stocks. From the body language of the men and women in this music video, it is purposely orchestrated to look like as if the they are black gangster rappers. And yet, it is through all of its extreme satire, that all of this commercial's discrimination has the reverse effect on it's intended audience: American adults, including New England. Because of it's discrimination and fusion of opposite demographics and heavy use of satire, this advertisement is not meant to be taken seriously. But are these the commercials that should be broadcast? The answer is yes.

Smirnoff Vodka is listed as the 84th global brand in the interbrand's top 100 global brands for 2010. The London based brand is worth 3,624 million dollars and makes up more than a fifth of the industries vodka sales. So what is it doing, making one very offensive commercial? The answer is that it grabs attention, and is so humorously racist, and sexist, that all audiences unaffiliated aren't offended. Even the people who are discriminated can at least see the satire, and laugh at the stereotype. Making such a commercial attracts a large market around the country, and even the world. But should we be endorsing such humorous racism, sexism, and prejudice? How is that bettering society?

Advertisements are the art of propaganda. And in this case, because it is a satire, endorsing racism, sexism, and prejudice is actually bettering society. Democratically, it means the media is expressing its freedom of speech. That does not mean it is advocating we should be prejudice but it is the opposite. It is because it speaks of racism humorously that then society is able to see racism in a more ridiculous way.  Just because a commercial says lines such as "Haters like to clown our ivy league education, but they're just jealous, cuz our fathers run the nation," doesn't mean the rappers are triggering hatred, but instead are misrepresenting the New England stereotype through rapping. If anything, since this commercial is so popular, it shows the American people do believe that too many of our presidents are this white New England stereotype, and that people should vote for another ethnicity. This is why this line is funny. It may be implicit, but this advertisement is encouraging American, democratic morals.

This song ad for Smirnoff raw tea ends up cleverly attracting all economic classes because it looks refined in the music video for the New England demographic, although the lyrics say it is also for the gangster demographic thereby making a large economic middle ground between the opposite consumers. It is no wonder Smirnoff is such a successful company, considering it's commercials grab so much attention.