mwotw

Ever since Jimmy Cagney brought the mobster anti-hero to the silver screen in 1931’s Public Enemy, organized crime lore has held a place in consumer culture. The high-profile arrests and trials, the unequivocal cold-bloodedness of the "hits", the personalities of the mobsters themselves, from Capone to Gotti, all contribute to the pervasiveness of organized crime references in the culture and in marketing. The staggering success, both commercial and critical, of Francis Coppola’s Godfather films in the 70’s, earned la cosa nostra the permanent attention of Madison Avenue marketers eager to turn the public’s fascination with gangsters into sales.

But, while exercises in Mafia Marketing have enjoyed enormous success at the Hollywood box office and on cable television (HBO’s The Sopranos, for example), the combination has never proven an effective one for marketers in other consumer categories. Perhaps this is because consumer marketers have failed to understand what appeals to us about mobsters, even above the undeniable effects of their criminality upon society.

The following exchange from the Godfather, may shed light. Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, has been visited by an Italian-American shopkeeper, unhappy with the justice he received from the courts for the brutal rape of his daughter:

BONASERA: What do you want of me? I’ll give you anything you want, but do what I ask!

DON CORLEONE: And what is that Bonasera?

BONASERA: [whispers into the DON’s ear.]

DON CORLEONE: No. You ask for too much.

BONASERA: I ask for Justice.

DON CORLEONE: The Court gave you justice.

BONASERA: An eye for an eye!

DON CORLEONE: But your daughter is still alive.

BONASERA: Then make them suffer as she suffers. How much shall I pay you.

[Both HAGEN and SONNY react.]

DON CORLEONE: You never think to protect yourself with real friends. You think it’s enough to be an American. All right, the Police protects you, there are Courts of Law, so you don’t need a friend like me. But now you come to me and say Don Corleone, you must give me justice. And you don’t ask in respect or friendship. And you don’t think to call me Godfather; instead you come to my house on the day my daughter
is to be married and you ask me to do murder…for money.

BONASERA: America has been good to me…

DON CORLEONE: Then take the justice from the judge,
the bitter with the sweet, Bonasera. But if you come to me with your
friendship, your loyalty, then your enemies become my enemies, and then, believe me, they would fear you…

[Slowly, Bonasera bows his head and murmurs.]

BONASERA: Be my friend.

DON CORLEONE: Good. From me you’ll get Justice.

BONASERA: Godfather.

DON CORLEONE: Some day, and that day may never come,
I would like to call upon you to do me a service in return… Source
IMSDB

Though people die and sometimes things go missing, there is a reassuring clarity in the handling of Mob affairs. Everybody knows what they’re supposed to do, what not to do, and the consequences of non-compliance or failure are fully disclosed in advanced. As for themes, loyalty and honor, so pervade at least our impression of mafia culture, that they confer upon the mafioso archetype a form of authoritative nobility. And yet, because we know that they are "rule breakers", we are put at ease, we feel free to be ourselves — flawed, human sinners. The company of mafiosi breeds a cozy feeling of complicity. And that is what marketers must exploit. We like the mobster because he has power, yet he does not judge us. And if we fear him, it is always a depersonalized fear. "It’s nothing personal…" is often the line delivered right before somebdady gets whacked.

In all my searching for companies that might have done Mafia Marketing right, I found but one - Mobbucks.com. The Vega Brothers from Hackensack, New Jersey are not in the mafia. I’m not sure they are even Italian. But one thing they are certainly is successful. Mobbucks.com operates a network of adult pay sites that range in concept from "see what happens when a job interview turns into a porn audition", to "Mel’s Diner Meets Porn Emporium" The Mobbucks sites radiate a no-nonsense, urban sensibility that fits with what you would imagine Tony Soprano likes.

But where Mobbucks.com has really stepped out of the "me-too quagmire" that binds most of the porn industry into a homogeneous clump is in their marketing — from the excellent design of the Mobbucks.com Web site, to a brilliant print campaign that shows the Mobbucks crew behind bars, to the way the Vega Brothers make you feel when they shake your hand.

I do business with them because I like them. Simple as that. But liking them hasn’t blinded me to what they have done or why it’s special. They have selected all the most positive of the things that come into our heads when we think of mobsters, built that into a brand that is all about "Hey, it’s okay. You’re alright. We like you." and brought those messages into a market where that’s the most important thing people need to hear. Because, in spite of what some of my colleagues in the industry believe, I know that the battle we should be fighting hardest is not with the lawmakers in Washington, but with the hearts and minds of our customers, who vote those lawmakers into office… and out. Nice job, guys, and thanks!

2hp

THE MOB

sample flash ad | sample flash ad | sample ad | sample collateral | the mobbucks sites

This entry was posted on Friday, January 6th, 2006 at 7:25 am and is filed under Business, 2005, Sex, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.