Hey, do you like gelato? Would you like it better if it were sold to you by screaming Italians? If yes, have we got a great product for you!
There are few times in life where I'm left speechless. The Haagen Dazs gelato commercial was one of those times. I literally had no words as two Italians (presumably a couple) began screaming at each other for no reason.
The commercial opens with the husband/boyfriend arriving home with flowers in hand and simply saying: "Ciao, amore."
The wife/girlfriend's response to this was to smash a plate on the floor:
And say:
The boyfriend's initial reaction was, understandably, this deer-in headlights pose:
Which quickly turned into this:
The girlfriend's reaction: face to face, nose touching screaming match
But wait! Just as the argument is reaching epic proportions they both look down and see the Haagen Dazs Gelato container - and all is calm.Until, of course, the girlfriend asks the boyfriend to apologize.
He becomes enraged and she screams:
Why this is offensive:
I hate this commercial for two very large reasons : 1) it taps into the "all Italians do is scream, be violent and lose their temper" stereotype and; 2) the screaming has nothing to do with the product. The screaming was put there to "play up" the idea that these two were Italians. We assure you - if the characters were soft spoken, the gelato would taste the same and be just as appealing.
I personally hate the commercial for a separate reason: I was really disappointed. When the commercial first came on, and I heard Italian - I was intrigued. I was excited for whatever product was to follow. That excitement turned into anger rather quickly. We're so much more than these companies and TV shows would have you believe.
UPDATE: 4/28/2014
Since people were commenting here
claiming that we're “alone” on the issue of this commercial –
we decided to take another look.
We started off by researching a bit. It turns out – we're not alone. Haagen Dazs' facebook page is inundated with comments calling the ad “stereotypical,” “digusting,” and “offensive.” We also know most of the people visiting our article are using the search words “haagen dazs gelato commercial awful,” “haagen dazs stereotypes” and “haagen dazs Italian stereotypes.”
We started off by researching a bit. It turns out – we're not alone. Haagen Dazs' facebook page is inundated with comments calling the ad “stereotypical,” “digusting,” and “offensive.” We also know most of the people visiting our article are using the search words “haagen dazs gelato commercial awful,” “haagen dazs stereotypes” and “haagen dazs Italian stereotypes.”
Don't
believe us? Check out the screencaps of the Haagen Dazs facebook
page - starting from last year when the commercial first came out:
We're far from alone on the issue
Just as an aside – we do not look for things to quarrel over. Many Italian – themed commercials are just fine in our book. FIAT had a wonderful series of commercials come out this past year. On the gelato front – Breyer's seems to make a gelato without using Italian stereotype to sell it. What a novel idea.
FIAT Commercial:
Not offensive - just clever
Breyer's Gelato Commercial
Still Not Offensive
In sum, the point regarding Haagen Dazs is, no
other ethnic group would be portrayed like that in a commercial –
so we shouldn't be, either. Find a different way to tell me gelato is
Italian and Italians enjoy gelato. Breyer's did - I'm sure Haagen Dazs could as well.
I lived in Italy for years. There's a reason why they're stereotypes, because theyre true! Just accept what you are. Wear your emotions on your sleeve, good and bad. The sooner you do the more you will live life like an italian and love every bit of it, unless you aren't one........ It is very un-italian to really hold onto bitterness like this.
ReplyDeleteLet's breakdown your naïveté: 1) You came to an Italian website and questioned our ethnicity and; 2) You lived in Italy and have no concept of the people and culture.
DeleteAs for item 1: Why would a website devoted to "defending and promoting" the Italian community be operated by non- Italians? That would make ZERO sense. That would be akin to a vegan operating a meat-lovers website. In short, we're all Italian. But, in the spirit of transparency, here are our hometowns in Italy: Firenze & Bologna, Siderno, Gioiosa, Stilo (Calabria) and Benevento/ Torre del Greco (Napoli). You may question a lot, but questioning our pedigree crosses a line.
As for item 2: You allegedly lived in Italy for years and didn't notice how Italians react when offended? Were you conscious during your trip? Italians do not take being offended lightly. We remember everything, forever. We remember who came to our weddings, our parties, our loved one's funerals. If we feel aggrieved, we will hold onto harsh feelings for a very long time.
It's at this point that I'll also refer you to the word "vendetta." It's an English loan word from Italian. Why was it borrowed? Because English words couldn't precisely describe a blood feud/revenge. Italians had a phrase that described it better than we ever could. I'm certain a culture that "never holds onto bitterness" wouldn't have such a word. Italians have made an art-form of grudges, grievances and arguing.
On a side note: I'm baffled as to how you are an "expert" on Italian culture and yet, you proclaim all stereotypes to be true. Maybe you should have lived there longer- and opened your eyes to cultural and societal nuances.
Stereotypes are, by their very nature, broad generalizations of a people. This means that exceptions are made the rules regarding a race or culture. With your attitude, we are certain that you believe all Italians are in the Mafia, and are violent, loud and uneducated. It is tragic that all you gleaned from your time in Italy was that "stereotypes are true."
Our group exists to refute "experts" such as yourself.
I lived in Italy and was married to an Italian for many years. I can tell you that he was like the man (and the woman) in this ad. Being married to him with an emotional roller coaster. He said the most horrible things to me then expected me (as did his mother) to forget about it 10 minutes later. I divorced him eventually because the relationship was scarred. I was told that Italian couple do this, that they yelled at each other (even families) and just got over it. My ex's mother put up with this behavior from his father for 22 years before leaving him, then just found another man to do it. I'm not going to analyze the long diatribe from the other responder. I'll just say that when I saw this ad, it sure did ring true for me! And I saw it all around me in Italy.
DeleteI am an Italian citizen, born and raised. I agree with The Blogsmith. I don't mean to offend anyone and I have love for all people, but some of the statements on your site are contradictory. "You allegedly lived in Italy for years and didn't notice how Italians react when offended? Were you conscious during your trip? Italians do not take being offended lightly." Sir, can you see the irony of that statement? You bash the media anytime they portray a cultural stereotype, but you brandish them yourself with impunity. Another use of a cultural stereotype you use: " If we feel aggrieved, we will hold onto harsh feelings for a very long time." Here's the interesting thing: I agree 100% with those statements. Though this is never true for every Italian individual, what you're describing DOES happen with a greater frequency than the average family in the US. IF we want to identify as Italians, and openly acknowledge that the word 'Italian' means being a specific subculture, then we can't just say 'we make great food and have pretty monuments'... we also accept other stereotypes, as long as they hold true as a unique identifier of our culture. We're not being ostracized INSTITUTIONALLY and we are afforded the same opportunities as everyone else, so none of theses impedes our social mobility...to ME, it simply shows one of our many interesting distinctions--one of the things that colors us as different. Some of these items that you harbor a grievance for are either truly harmless or at LEAST as true as the statements you yourself have made. There ARE many couples that break plates and have passionate arguments. So what? It's our granularity and differences that make us great. What you're asking for is cultural sterility, while still wanting to identify as 'different' and 'interesting'. I disagree with it, and feel being this sensitive is actually HARMFUL to cultural diversity.
DeleteAquilifer:
DeleteIf anyone is making statements in an ironic fashion - it is you. You want "cultural diversity" and would like Italian to be a recognized subculture. So do I. What you fail to recognize, however, is that there is no "diversity" when it comes to portraying Italians on TV and media.
For every one Italian being portrayed in a positive light, there are 10 being represented as violent, short tempered, ignorant, etc. Where is the diversity in such representations as The Sopranos or The Godfather? If your view were correct, we'd have a representation in the media that reflected our actual cultural diversity. Sadly, that is not the case.
You also missed our point. Our point (on this website and through our research) is NOT to claim the bases for Italian stereotypes don't exist. You will NEVER read on this site such things as the mafia doesn't exist. Such a position is narrow-minded, foolish and indefensible. What you WILL read on this site is that the mafia makes up less than one half of 1% of all Italians and yet we are only portrayed as gangsters and thugs. You will ALSO read that, in today's politically correct environment, Italians are the only group that are permitted to be attacked and stereotyped. Those are facts - not fictions.
As a result of this skewed view by the media - we are being attacked INSTITUTIONALLY. If you still don't believe me, ask yourself this question: In the year 2014, would any other group be called offensive slurs on a national TV show? The answer is, no. And yet, CBS felt it proper to have an Italian character called a "Greaseball" and WOP on one of its biggest comedies.
Would a network dare do that with another group? Why is it acceptable to boil us down to our stereotypes and dispense them as truth - while other groups are treated in a more "diverse" manner?
Forgive us, but your "head in the sand" mentality is what's harming our culture.
I understand where you're coming from but I disagree.
DeleteIt is not the entertainment/recreational media's responsibility to portray a balanced version of every cultural component of a given ethnicity. The fact that organized crime is 'over-represented' is simply a symptom of what is entertaining, and not an attempt to pigeon-hole Italians as mobsters. I am not really interested in watching an Italian hanging out with his grandma, aunt, uncle, and third cousin sitting around the house and eating lavish meals with a big family. Watching people eat may be an accurate portrayal of an Italian family, but it is not entertainment. If you're concerned that society now views all Italians as mobsters, then cultural awareness and education is a good approach, not stifling first amendment rights or branding innocent commercials or well-crafted drama's as hate speech.
Yes, in general the media seems to be more comfortable using offensive terminology to define Italians and Italian-Americans when compared to specific other ethnic groups, but I don't think that's a component of institutional racism. Institutional racism isn't CBS saying 'wop'. I do not have a difficult time finding gainful employment because of my last name, or in gaining a promotion, or in finding friends among other ethnic groups, or in people crossing the road when they see me on the same sidewalk...
Italians aren't overcrowding prisons, or being underrepresented in well-rated schools and universities.
If anything, being Italian has meant a mostly positive bias in my favor.
This may not be EVERYONE'S experience, but it certainly has been mine.
When it comes to this commercial specifically, I just feel like it's harmless. I don't see it as an attack. I DO see it as a representation of a stereotype, but wouldn't ANY media portrayal of a distinctive, Italian, cultural element be a stereotype (positive or negative)? If it said something along the lines of "Italians know and love amazing Gelato, and we crafted our stracciatella to pass the Italian palate test!" is that not also a stereotype? I don't see this as a negative or unfair portrayal.
I'm not trying to provoke you, I'm just trying to carry on a discourse. No need to be insulted.
Let me ask you this then: what pragmatic harms are you concerned about with your advocacy? Are you worried about a quantifiable result that Italians will suffer or are suffering? Or are you just feeling insulted and indignant? Honest question.
Stop being so sensitive and learn to laugh... jesus!
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with sensitivities - it has to do with realities. No other ethnic group is portrayed stereotypically in commercials. None. Think to all the commercials there are for beer/alcohol. How many of them feature stumbling, drunken Irish people? Zero. Ever see a stereotypical ad for Chinese food? I haven't. Why is it acceptable to portray Italians this way - but not other groups?
DeleteWe aren't sensitive at all. We enjoy "blue" humor in earnest. However, we are dismayed at the fact that the same niceties afforded other ethnicities are not afforded to Italians. If you do for one, you do for all. Italians should not be the default punching bag for the media because we're "OK" with being portrayed this way.
Side note: We really do love some Italian commercials. In particular, this one from FIAT: http://youtu.be/hbRKAVZBlRc
Haha...self absorbed Italians making this commercial about them. I don't think "Italians" are the target market of the commercial. And anyway, when I watched it, I didn't see "italian couple fighting," I saw "fighting is a totally normal part of a healthy relationship and eat haagen dazs to calm the inevitable fighting you'll do with your loved one." Much more important than the concerns of just Italian folks.
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect, you would have to be delirious to think this isn't about Italians. It is a commercial about gelato spoken by Italians in the Italian language. The self absorbed person here is you; you think you're going to teach us about our culture and "normal" relationships.
DeleteAnd, if Italians aren't the target audience for this commercial - you are furthering our point. This commercial portrayed Italians negatively to a non-Italian audience. You do not see this done with other groups - there are no jive-talking African Americans selling traditional African American food to a non-African audience. The same goes for Jews, Asians, Muslims, etc - where are their stereotypically portrayed, national ad campaigns?
Furthermore, you're comment is a bit of an attack against Italians. You used the term "self absorbed Italians" as a sweeping generalization about our culture. Our apologies, but the concerns of "just Italian folk" is our domain - not yours. We'll come to you when we need relationship advice - which brings us to our last point: if you think it is normal to behave this way in a relationship - you have much bigger issues on your plate than our article. Screaming at your wife and eating ice cream does not seem like a healthy relationship cycle.
Yeah, I didn't think about Italians when I watched this. I was more concerned that this level of fighting is normal for a loving relationship of any two people from any country. Stop making this about you. Anyone that's worth a damn will judge YOU for YOU and not some commercial. From the standpoint of your average person of Northern European descent, southern Europeans ARE demonstrably more "passionate" for good and ill.
ReplyDeleteIf this commercial showed a German couple fighting and making up, it would make much less sense to the global marketplace to which this is advertised.
So, based on your first comment - Germans don't have healthy relationships, correct? You said "fighting is a totally normal part of a healthy relationship and eat(ing) haagen dazs (will) calm the inevitable fighting you'll do with your loved one." Are we mistaken, or do you seem to be speaking from both sides of your mouth?
DeleteOf course it would make no sense to air this in Germany - Italians stereotypically scream at each other. Germans don't. We must use our stereotypes judiciously! We're so glad we figured out your hypocritical logic.
Lastly, you're right - Germans and other Northern Europeans are the standard bearers for being calm and dispassionate. Hitler was really known for "keeping it together" during his fanatic and abhorrent speeches.
I'm a first generation American-Italian & have no problem with this commercial. I visit Calabria, Italy often to spend time with my massive family & have a dual citizenship. Yes, Southern Italians are very melodramatic & scream or speak loudly to eachother. Northern Italians are not as animated as the southerners; at least from my personal experiences. Southern Italian women talk/scream through walls! I would never marry an Italian woman because they live to argue!
ReplyDeleteWe respectfully disagree - no other ethnicity would be portrayed like this in a commercial. Breyer's has a gelato commercial - and it focuses on its texture, flavor and natural ingredients. Haagen Dazs commercial could have been made with Italians, speaking Italian, enjoying the gelato near any/all landmarks in Italy - emphasizing the fact that Italians enjoy this gelato - or that they can't tell the difference between "Italian" gelato and Haagen Dazs. We don't need stereotypical portrayals of Italians to sell us ice cream.
DeleteAnyway - we're also Calabrese. Siamo paesani :) What town are you from?
Strangely, the opposite occurs in Germany...the people in the south speak more slowly more commonly and are more friendly to outsiders, more pleasant in general; in the north, people speak more quickly, less friendly to outsiders and just more punctilious. These are stereotypes based upon many interactions with no interactions that dispelled this theory.
DeleteI don't believe that all people in Germany are this way, but I believe that its common enough to notice. Believing a stereotype is common to EVERY member of a perceived class is fairly simple-minded and someone who is swayed in their opinions of someone prior to actually interacting with them by such simplemindedness doesn't even deserve to have their opinions considered as important or even worth acknowledging.
@ your name is dumb,
DeleteClever name. I'm most certain it required you to muster up all of your intellect. Be careful - you don't want to use it all in one place!
I know I'm expecting blood from a dumb stone here but here goes...
If by "no one knows what commercial you're talking about" you mean, "everyone understands the commercial I'm talking about because I embedded it and broke it down scene by scene" then, you are 100% correct. Furthermore, most people come here because they have already seen the commercial - which you have proven, because you saw the commercial and wanted to know the actress' name.
"Fuckin' Italians wanting to argue all the time..." - This coming from a man who a) found my site, b) was enraged by my site and c) decided to leave a rant on my site.
I'd find that stick and fuck it - but it sounds like you could use it a lot more than I ever could.
Dear Jtaylor5012,
ReplyDeleteWe thank you for response. We appreciate the fact that you took time away from your gelato consumption to provide us with wit, wisdom and insight. Indeed, the world must have stopped when your lifted your head out of the gelato container – as it is a rare occurrence rivaling total eclipses and the icing over of the netherworld.
We also find it delightful that you manage to keep an affinity for gelato, given your living situation. Do tell – how is the gelato delivered under the bridge? We would imagine that it is difficult for deliveries to be made to places with no exact address. Do locals just point the deliveries in the right direction? Do deliverymen simply ask for “the troll?”
In any event – your feedback is most welcomed. I am certain Haagen Dazs enjoys the notion that you are one of its most ardent supporters. Perhaps you can be the “face of Haagen Dazs” - and appear on gelato containers the world over. It would be quite the change for your face to be on the container instead of in the container.
Cheers!
Editor
Far be it from an Italian to over-analyze and get so enraged and offended by an ice cream commercial that portrays Italians as hot-headed, rash and passionate.
ReplyDeleteBesides, why are you so quick to dismiss this as a negative? Italian passion is what makes Italians....well...Italians! Take Lamborghini for example - Lamborghini started Lamborghini because he felt he was slighted by Ferrari. He put everything he owned on the line to create a car that would rival Ferrari, and all because of what? Ferrari told Lamborghini that he wasn't fit to drive a Ferrari, and to go back to tractors. Italians have created incredible things - things that are possible because of their intense passion. Where there's fire there's fire - the passion goes both ways.
ReplyDeleteCristina,
DeleteI'm not sure why you think I'm "enraged" - I'm simply disappointed. I think the commercial was done in poor taste, and I highlighted the reasons for that position. I wasn't hot-headed or rash in anything I've written.
You're correct, Italians are passionate. That should mean that their passions drive them to create better products. Here, we have none of that. We don't know who made the product nor do we know the quality of the product. Haagen Dazs is just using a tired stereotype (Italians being loud) to tell the audience, “Hey – this product is Italian!” That's all they wanted to establish.
As I mentioned earlier in the comments, this commercial could have been done in better fashion. Do a blind taste test with Italians in Italy, show an Italian shopping and deliberately buying Haagen Dazs over other Italian gelatos – saying in Italian that Haagen Dazs is better...whatever. Anything would have been better than what they ultimately decided upon.
Again, you're correct: Italians have created incredible things, due to our intense passion. It is a shame that these accomplishments are constantly overshadowed by stereotypical portrayals.
Love the commercial. Let your disappointment go, it's much ado about nothing. Stop sweating the small stuff, you'll live longer.
ReplyDeleteI just like the commercial because of la ciaciona bella!!
ReplyDeleteItalian women are so hot...wait, that is an incorrect stereotpye. My great grandmother was definitely not hot.
I think the most offensive thing about this commercial is that it actually shows Italians eating Haagan Dazs "gelato"!
How come nobody is angry about that??
That pisses me off, to be honest. It would be like showing Japanese people eating at Red Lobster.
Yeah, I get the stereotype thing, but every culture has stereotypes. I think that as reasonable people (and we all are reasonable, right?) that we can distinguish between offensive stereotypes and cultural exaggerations.
Here is why I think that people should not get so worked up about this:
1) This commercial does not marginalize Italians
2) The portrayal of this Italian couple does not impose or invite negative judgement on Italian culture
3) Italians are not compared to any other culture or placed beneath other nationalities
4) Despite the unhealthy relationship the couple portrays (ma che cazzo è sano di gelato??), they are not portrayed in a state of desperation or poverty
5) The commercial does not impose any significant or negative socioeconomic portrayal of Italians (despite Italy's 12.5% unemployment rate)
The smear campaign against stereotypes is ridiculous to me. There is nothing wrong with a little generalizing as long as it is not perpetuating the marginalization or oppression of an entire group of people.
Some stereotypes are just plain fun, such as all white males are oppressive or all Asians know karate. Wait...I take those back.
Anyway, you see my point. i probably should have just kept my mouth shut. But considering I am of Italian heritage, that is impossible.
On another note, want to rent a German? http://www.rentagerman.de/
Wow, you really need to lighten up... The commercial was harmless and witty -- and no one with the slightest critical thinking ability will actually believe Italians constantly behave in that manner, after watching it.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, are you just one of those people who go around looking for things to be upset about?
It's really annoying how easily-offended people are these days -- seems like you can't sneeze without pissing someone off in this overly-politically correct environment...
My advice to you: stop taking everything so damn seriously and grow a sense of humor.
Well, it looks like the comment I just wrote was wiped out by my computer so hopefully this one will go through. I was given an assignment last week in English to find and analyse an ad. My mother suggested this one. Well, the more I looked into it, the more frustrated I got because I couldn't really find much to work with. And then I found this page. Now, I am not Italian nor Italian American. I spent a summer in Italy but I don't remember it much and a summer wasn't long enough to really get their culture. When I first saw this ad, I wasn't too familiar with the 'hot-headed Italian' stereotype, so I didn't see it. What I saw was a couple arguing, calming over some gelato, and then arguing again. It seemed fairly normal to me. However, after reading what was written here, I can see how this ad is offensive to some people. I don't know if that was the company's intention or not, but it was offensive to some regardless. I was very interested to read your opinions as I am always curious to hear what others have to say about today's still somewhat racist society. It's a shame that we've reached this point. I am not a racist person. I was raised to be colour blind and I will continue to be this way. And I will support other ethnicities/races in society. I'm actually glad this page is here, because I did not realise certain points about this ad that you have addressed. So thank you.
ReplyDeleteWell, it looks like the comment I just wrote was wiped out by my computer so hopefully this one will go through. I was given an assignment last week in English to find and analyse an ad. My mother suggested this one. Well, the more I looked into it, the more frustrated I got because I couldn't really find much to work with. And then I found this page. Now, I am not Italian nor Italian American. I spent a summer in Italy but I don't remember it much and a summer wasn't long enough to really get their culture. When I first saw this ad, I wasn't too familiar with the 'hot-headed Italian' stereotype, so I didn't see it. What I saw was a couple arguing, calming over some gelato, and then arguing again. It seemed fairly normal to me. However, after reading what was written here, I can see how this ad is offensive to some people. I don't know if that was the company's intention or not, but it was offensive to some regardless. I was very interested to read your opinions as I am always curious to hear what others have to say about today's still somewhat racist society. It's a shame that we've reached this point. I am not a racist person. I was raised to be colour blind and I will continue to be this way. And I will support other ethnicities/races in society. I'm actually glad this page is here, because I did not realise certain points about this ad that you have addressed. So thank you.
ReplyDelete