About a year ago, I received an email forward from a friend and colleague of mine at a past agency. This agency represents a large gym chain, and my friend is the account supervisor for this client. The email was from Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino’s manager, telling my friend that “THE SITUATION’S AMAZING ABS!!!” would be the best possible spokesmodel for the gym. And yes, “THE SITUATION’S AMAZING ABS” was spelled out just like that. The email went on to discuss how talented “THE SITUATION” is and how well his “ROCK HARD ABS” could help the gym increase membership. It said people would flock to the gym knowing that someone as sexy and appealing as he works out there.
The email first made me laugh out loud, and then it got me thinking. Do people really want to be like the cast members of Jersey Shore? First instinct says no, but look around—everywhere you go, people are referencing Snooki, Pauly D, JWoww, Sammi Sweetheart, and Ronnie. Even President Obama has mentioned cast members on multiple occasions.
Think about all the new terms in pop culture that originated with Jersey Shore—“GTL, Guido, Guidette, pouf, juicehead, T-shirt time, etc.” It’s possible that the cast originated these terms on their own, or it’s possible that these terms were originated by the network for the show and have become pop-culture phenomena just because Snooki and JWoww are using them on a regular basis. Even though it’s easy to write off the cast members as ignorant and controversial, the show offers a huge opportunity to connect with viewers who may be seeing these “stars” as more and more likeable with every episode. A published article by Hollywood Reporter has “The Situation” earning as much as $5 million in 2010 from his on-camera role and the marketing opportunities that he’s involved with. If that’s the case, these reality TV phenoms are definitely doing something right for themselves.
Where do you stand? Is Jersey Shore becoming the place-to-be for advertisers who are looking to reach a broad audience? Or should advertisers stay away due to the possibility of backlash?
