Aguilar 1 Antonio Aguilar Jr.

English 103 04/11/2014 Little Caesars: Deep Dish Combo Mambo It seems that the majority of the time advertisements are being constantly thrown at people. No matter what the product is the companies are only focused on advertising whatever it is that they are trying to sell in the best way to make profit: whether it be, using children, morals, or puns as their driving force to channel the viewer towards consuming their product. Recently a commercial for Little Caesars Pizza was displayed on television with a Latin American theme made to attract the viewer but simultaneously mocks the ethnic group presented. In the beginning of the commercial the sound of tuned drums, known as Timbales, begin to play as the camera shows different combinations of pizzas and drinks moving from the center to the side of the camera. Palm trees in the background move from the back to the side where they do not block the viewer from what they are covering. The palm trees unveil a group of gentlemen dancing in place, smiling, playing instruments to the melody of a mambo tune, and dressed in some traditional Latin costumes with a tropical background. Each member of the band is looking directly into the camera as one of the band members sings. The camera switches between two gentlemen who sing, and the image of a deep dish pizza is portrayed so as to show the viewer what the gentlemen are singing about. As their verse

Aguilar 2 ends and the chorus begins, a group of three men initiate their choreography demonstrating the act of eating a slice of deep dish pizza and drinking a beverage while simultaneously dancing to the rhythm of the song. Then the image of one of the band members smiling, and of the deep dish pizza combo is displayed: first the drink then the actual pizza. The commercial finally ends by displaying one of the members playing a couple of high notes on his trumpet, and then by displaying the whole group of gentlemen singing the title of their song which is Deep Dish Combo Mambo. Interestingly enough, according to Treva Bedinghaus in About.com, The Mambo dance originated in Cuba as a mixture of Afro-Caribbean and Latin American cultures. The use of a Mambo song in the commercial helps the viewer in making such a cultural connection with the subject being presented. Along with music every element in culture complements each other. For example, throughout the Latin American history, not once has the use of dishes such a pizza have been used to feed or represent the people of any Latin region: perhaps in more recent years due to the expansion of the western culture, but not in terms of traditional dishes In this case the Little Caesars Pizza commercials use of a traditional Cuban mambo song genre, does not reflect that of a westernized dish such as pizza but rather a more traditional dish: depending on the region that it is in. Also, the lyrics of the song have nothing to do with the Latin culture. At the contrary the lyrics have to do with the deep dish pizza meal and how one may savor it. Such obvious force full relations between the irrelevant song genre, lyrics, subjects and dish being

Aguilar 3 represented reflects the Little Caesars Pizzas use of mockery amongst Latin Americans in order to attract viewers, outside of that ethnic group, in order to have them buy their product. The commercial also tries to bring attention and convince the viewer of a legitimate performance by embedding Latin instrumentation consisting of maracas, an acoustic guitar, a trumpet, and the use of tuned drums known as Timbales (as shown by the image on this page). The use of these instruments help the viewer better paint a visual image that can be processed with the lyrics of the song. The individuals playing these instruments are also the subject presenting the product. They are a group of what seems to be Latin males dancing, singing, and playing instruments: made to assist the viewer in relating the genre of music being played to the ethnic group it belongs to. Unfortunately, the gentlemen seem to be making a mockery out of themselves, for they are displayed dancing in an over exaggerated manner and are shown being happy about it: this exaggeration in dance can be determined by excessive use of hands, legs, and their overall body movement. Every member of the band had accentuated Latin like features: thick mustaches, light and brown complexions that are relative to the stereotypical skin tone of many Latin Americans. The use of such imagery was used to mock, not only the Latin American men presented but, the Latin American culture as a whole. For example, just a few seconds after the commercial begins the face of one of the members appears as he finishes one of the lines of the chorus (as shown by the image on this page). His thick greased hair, brown complexion, and costume places him under a

Aguilar 4 stereotypical appearance of a Latin American male. Not only this, but his accent is made obvious by the way he pronounces the words of the lyrics which also places him under the stereotypical mindset that Latin Americans speak in such an improper manner and that their features are like the one displaced. This stereotype is used to keep the viewer interested, by amusing them in the way the man talks and is presented foolishly, in the commercial and thus allowing the viewer to recall the visual and audio content of the commercial: this way Little Caesars will be in the minds of whom ever sees the video, and will have them reminiscing about their product in hopes of influencing their viewers to purchase their product. The elements that compose this commercial are quite controversial in their use of Latin American culture and cultural stereotypes to display their product. In a marketing point of view the use of such elements assist the company in obtaining a wide range of potential customers by only focusing on using the Latin culture to attract other viewers that are not in that ethnic background. In a more respective level of consciousness, the commercials use of Latin music, instrument, and people further push the stereotype of what Latin people and culture are all about: it gives the impression that Latin Americans, dress, and sing like the gentlemen being portrayed.

Aguilar 5 Work Cited Bedinghaus, Treva. "Mambo - Mambo Dance." About.com Dance. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.