Beautiful Black Women Can't Sell Vodka? Why Puffy, Why?

Monday, September 21, 2009

Now, I love the fact that women have historically been used to sell goods to men, as well as sell the same thing to women by simply them wanting to emulate, if not totally put themselves in the same scenario as the models.  Don't get me wrong, I find it laughable and ludicrous; if you want us to think differently about you [women], stop putting yourself in position that promulgate sexism.  

Now, I like a gorgeous woman like any other man, but I am also more open to what isn't the prototypical ideal of beauty that has been pushed by ad agencies and the entertainment industry for the past one hundred years.  I believe that people are like cookies, and you don't know what they taste like until you bite into them.  I have found all types of women attractive, regardless of age, race, color, height or weight.  I also am more put off by women that attempt to fit into certain molds, at the behest of showing their natural beauty, both inner and external.  There I nothing like seeing someone that has done everything to show someone that really isn't them at all.  I can take a dye job, but colored contacts, wigs, weaves and extensions that are used in place of showing who you are really [and for extended periods of time] are a complete turn off.

It's the same concept as people listening to the latest pop or rap song, and finding some sort of bliss by either emulating a scenario sung/rapped about, or displayed in a music video.  I care not to "pop champagne" in a club when the song comes on, nor tell someone to "pass the Courvoisier."  I guess growing up poor was one thing that enabled me to focus on myself, because I could not clad myself in the latest fad of the moment.  

I always loved seeing the Jet magazine "Beauty of the Week" and it always flabbergasted me seeing the print and television ads for beer, malt liquor (crap one should never ingest), and liquors.  Oh, they are usually filled with scantily clad women that all are either white or have strong European features, if they are not Latina or Asian.  But even then, we go for the Western/European Caucasian features more than anything else.

But today, I got an interesting email.  The email was from BlackPlanet.com, and was in the Spotlight Stories.  The headline was "RUMOR: Diddy Bans Black Women From NYE Party" and while I rarely ever log into the website (it's actually owned by a Chinese firm and it has become definitely a hood-rat and hoochie infested site), I just had to look at this one.  As I read it, there was another interesting entry regarding the marketing of Ciroc vodka, or which Puffy receives fifty percent of the profits.  You can find the story at http://hellobeautiful.com/your-world/diddy-dark-skinned-girls-need-not-apply/

Now, the funny thing is that while this might piss some people off, it will only be for a moment.  I always say that people are enlightened for no more than five seconds, at which on the sixth second, they go back to what they were doing seven seconds ago.  Should African Americans and any other people offended by this purchase Ciroc vodka?  The answer is of course, no.  And they shouldn't attend or support any Ciroc events, but we know that promoters will do it for the money, and people will justify that it's not them.

People emulate what they see, and it's just more plausible and empowering when people see examples of people that reflect their images and their lifestyles.  Manufacturers, ad agencies, talent agencies and Hollywood might be quick to notice this and finally be more inclusive, winning on multiple fronts.  It is sad that the only time they seem to put you in the picture is when you're famous, but if you didn't have that fame, you'd never get chosen for an extra.

It just might be time for me to implore and pressure some of the wine companies to produce marketing materials with those that are outside of their normal scope of what sells.

Who's interested?