Yo, advertisers!
Graphic shots of a young woman getting clocked in the face isn’t going to make TV viewers want to buy anything you’re selling.
That’s the warning furious Italian-Americans are delivering to sponsors of MTV’s edgy new reality show, “Jersey Shore.”
A reel of preview clips distributed by MTV includes a shot of co-star “Snookie,” a 21-year-old hottie, taking a nasty right cross to her jaw from a man.
It’s not clear what sparked the brutal barroom beating.
So far, Domino’s Pizza and American Family Insurance have removed spots from the loud, hormone-driven, skin-flashing, blinged-out “Shore,” which debuted last week.
It’s a low-rent version of “The Sopranos,” said André DiMino, president of the Italian-America service organization, UNICO.
” ‘The Sopranos’ are at one end of the spectrum, the Mafioso, and then this is the other — bimbos and buffoons. This is how we’re being portrayed,” he said yesterday.
“It’s worse than I could have ever imagined, the lowest form of stereotyping you can ever see.”
“That clip is repeating over and over again on the Internet and it’s pretty shocking,” said Domino’s VP Tim McIntyre.
The very hint that “Shore” could be controversial was enough for American Family Insurance to whack its ads.
“We are a highly regulated industry and when we get consumer complaints, we have to make note of them,” said company flack Steve Witmer.
Critics of the show now have other “Shore” advertisers — Macy’s, Taco Bell, Victoria’s Secret, Honda, T-Mobile, Chili’s, Best Buy, Sony, Verizon, Zappos and Subway — in their crosshairs.
“We’re getting a lot of great response — not just from Italian-Americans, but from African-Americans, from Jewish people, from many others who are as shocked as we are,” DiMino said.
He did claim at least one victory: convincing MTV to clip the terms “guidos” and “guidettes” from promotional material.
An MTV rep defended “Shore,” but said she appreciates why some advertisers might want out.
“We understand that this show is not intended for every audience and depicts just one aspect of youth culture,” said spokeswoman Emily Yeomans. “Our intention was never to stereotype, discriminate or offend.”