Lite's mafia campaign sleeps with the fishes

Draftfcb's campaign for Miller Lite in which Sopranos star Frank Vincent offers "protection" to bartenders and convenience-store clerks has been yanked off the air because some Italian American groups claim it's offensive. And I suppose it is. I wouldn't want my people associated with Miller Lite. But comparing the ads to minstrel radio show Amos 'n' Andy is a little much. And really, where have these groups been for the past, oh, 20 years or so? Almost every portrayal of Italians I've ever seen casts them as loud, abrasive, ethnic sidekicks or violent mafioso. Not that there's no reason to be upset, but it's hard to see what made these particular ads so offensive. It's no worse than the Denny's ads with Paulie Walnuts, or the Goodfellas-esque Braun commercial, or the Godfather homage from Pepsi, or this Hardees ad for an "authentically Italian" chicken parm sandwich. The offended parties should go back and watch those, and Miller should go back to using hot girls and bad jokes. Deal?

—Posted by David Kiefaber

June 4, 2009 in Alcohol, Controversy, Draftfcb, Kiefaber, Miller | Permalink