Last month, French lifestyle site demotivateur posted a video recipe for a pasta "alla Carbonara" that was nothing like the eggy spaghetti dish beloved by Italians.
Even among Italians, there are variations in the recipe, which is a "tradition" less than a century old. However, the French version almost seemed like a parody of French food by Italians. Dry pasta, bacon, and onions are simmered in water, then the mix is tossed in crème fraîche and cheese and pepper sprinkled on. Finally, a raw egg yolk is cracked on top. What?
The video went viral in Italy, according to Huffington Post, with Italians loudly bemoaning the "death of carbonara."
But let's look at that video again.
Nice product placement, eh? When I first saw the original video (now gone) I swear I saw Barilla branding at the end as well. I suspect, as some Italian commenters do, that this was just a piece of content marketing gone awry.
And yet the company denied everything on the Sai cosa mangi? Facebook Page, and offered a link to alternative recipes on their own site.
So, either this was rogue content marketing by Barilla's French team that went very badly, or it was a brilliant trolling of Italians. Either way, Barilla is benefiting from clicks, mentions, and visits by outraged Italians and curious foreigners.
My friend Gord sent me a link from Good that points out a pretty hilarious packaging gaffe. Or is it?
Tropical Traditions, originally a coconut oil importer in the US, has branched out into organic packaged foods. One of them is an Italian pasta sauce line, with labels showing women from Renaissance Italian paintings.
Organic Spicy Tomato & Roasted Garlic, for example, features Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, but without the breasts:
Organic Tomato and Grilled Eggplant gets one of my favourite portraits, Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo:
OK, the weasel is a little weird for a food label. (Assuming the sauce doesn't have much weasel in it.)
But let's move on to the final jar, Organic Tomato & Porcini Mushroom:
What is with that woman's face, anyway? She doesn't look too impressed. Perhaps we should have a look at the uncropped painting, which is Caravaggio's... Judith Beheading Holofernes?!?
That's right, it's a decapitation. In the apocryphal Book of Judith, the eponymous heroine is a righteous Hebrew who saves Israel by talking her way into the tent of Assyrian general Holofernes, then hacking off his head after he passes out drunk. Since Christians love them a good grisly death, this scene has been portrayed by several artists over the centuries.
But why choose it for a food label? Especially a food that itself kind of resembles gore?
There is no way the designer was unaware of the painting's context, as she or he would have had to research a public domain version of the whole work from which to crop the label.
In fact, I believe what we are seeing here is a clever little prank. A designer who counted on his or her client to be ignorant of the source material. The Botticelli and Leonardo portraits are well-known enough that they probably sold the idea of using Renaissance Italian paintings of women to give the sauces a note of "old-world authenticity." But a severed head, spouting arterial blood, is probably one of the last things I want to think about when I pour this on my spaghetti.
Insulting pizza is a big deal in Italy. Especially if you're an American fast food goliath.
Business Insider reports that the the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), representing the pizza chefs of Naples, the food's birthplace, are threatening to sue McDonald's for pizza defamation.
And it's all because of this ad:
You don't need to speak Italian to follow the story: Parents of a picky child are at a pizzeria, anxiously awaiting their child's choice from the menu. The waiter asks the boy what he wants, and he says "a Happy Meal." So the family leaves and takes him to McDonald's where he is happy.
The AVPN's VP is quoted in this imperfectly-translated statement:
Di porzio states that it is ignoble comparing two products very different from each other, especially if it is for discrediting those restaurants most loved by Italian families: pizzerias. Also, it is already well known that children love pizzas, especially for the taste. It is obvious that the American colossus is trying to discredit its main competitor, but speculating on children’s health is just too much. Furthermore, it is not the first time that Mc Donald attacks our culinary traditions, but this time we are willing to take some legal countermeasures.
North Americans may find it odd for pizzerias to attack burgers on nutritional standards, but only if they haven't had authentic Italian pizza. Unlike our doughy, salty and cheesy delivery versions, Italian pizze are all about fresh ingredients and restraint. Even though the dough is made from highly-refined flour, the Italian tradition of much stricter portion control makes the pizza less of a calorie bomb:
A standard margherita (with 250g of dough) has around 800Kcal, but children do not usually eat a whole pizza. So, if we reduce the size of a standard pizza and then we add a drink (without gas), we will reach 700Kcal per meal. A Happy meal has 600Kcal, which for a children are just too much. However, it is not about “how many Kcals there are per meal”, but it is a matter of “what kind of quality” they are! What kind of meat do they use to prepare their hamburgers and how many fats they have? What kind of oil do they use to prepare their potatos: colza oil? How much mayonnaise do they put on their hamburgers? And how about the preservatives contained in their bread? The true napolitan pizza, which is a product guaranteed by our international regulations, it is a “handcrafted” product which only uses selected raw materials, like mozzarella di bufala, fiordilatte, tomatos from Campania and extra virgin oil. In this way, pizzas results in a complete and balanced meal from a nutritional point of view. It is time for parents to control what their children eat: junk food might be ok if consumed now and then, but they should teach their children to eat clean everyday. They must. And eating clean means to follow the culinary culture offered by our wonderful Mediterranean Diet: it will supply parents with the right tools to choose among a great number of meals which are not only tasty and healthy but, above all, Italians.
If you're sensing a certain cultural pride here, you're not mistaken. McDonald's has only been in Italy since 1986, and its arrival in Rome's historic core was greeted with outrage. Designer Valentino even threatened legal action against his new neighbours over the smell:
According to Valentino, who this week began legal action aimed at closing the restaurant, which backs on to his Rome headquarters, the McDonald's created a ''significant and constant noise and an unbearable smell of fried food fouling the air.'' He has asked Italian magistrates to order it closed immediately on the ground that it is a nuisance.
McDonald's stayed, and expanded. Now, it can be found among the historic attractions of Venice, Florence, Milan, and —yes—Naples.
I live in Italy for several months-long stints in the 90s, and McDonald's by then had become a shibboleth for whether one was "cultured" or not. Since food is a massive part of Italy's many regional identities, the arrival of American fast food was bound to cause a reaction. In fact, that Roman McDonald's was the barbarian at the gates of Italian culture that caused Carlo Petrini to found the now-international Slow Food Movement.
There is a certain amount of pretentious Anti-Americanism in the AVPN complaint, but I can see why they are so upset. Defaming pizza in Italy (especially in Naples) is a really obtuse move by McDonald's marketers. Especially since the corporation has been trying so hard to adapt to the demand for more local foods elsewhere in Europe.
It's not the first (or the worst) example of Rio de Janeiro's monumental Christ The Redeemer statue being used in an ad campaign. But maybe the context of the World Cup has people particularly jumpy.
In one example, from Australia, involved a giant inflatable Jesus hovering over Melbourne, sporting a Team Australia soccer jersey with the logo of bookmaker Sportsbet and the hashtag #KEEPTHEFAITH.
While Australia is known for edgy advertising, this stunt upset Reverend Tim Costello, chair of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce. He told the press, "One of the great statues in Rio is Jesus, and Brazil is a Catholic nation that takes its faith seriously and its football fanatically."
Indeed, Brazil's church was deeply offended. But by another campaign that had Jesus join Team, Italia:
NY Daily News reports that The Brazilian Catholic Church threatened to sue Italian broadcaster Rai after it showed the statue in an Italian jersey in its promotional video for its coverage of the World Cup.
While this upset the The Archdiocese of Rio on religious grounds, the issue could actually be one of intellectual property. The Archdiocese has image rights over the statue. After they threatened to sue Rai for $5.4 million, the network pulled the ad.
My own sensitivities are not too bruised by poking fun at The Jesus, since he's so embedded in secular western culture. But the intellectual property argument for this particular representation could be a real headache for cheeky advertisers.
UPDATE: Ad Critic Joe La Pompe informs me that it is a well-worn old idea!
According to La Repubblica, this monument was installed May 4th in the town of Borgaro Torinese, just outside of Turin, Italy.
It's a memorial to the victims of the Superga air disaster. On May 4, 1949, a plane carrying most of Torino A.C. football team crashed nearby, killing all 31 passengers.
Many Italians are outraged, calling it "ugly, disrespectful and especially gruesome." There is apparently an Avaaz.org petition against it, but I can't find it online.
It was installed by the local government, with support from local fan group Toro Club Borgaro Grenade.
Italy's culture minister, the Historical Heritage and Fine Arts Board curator, and the director of Florence’s Accademia Gallery (where "David" is currently on display) have all denounced the ad, and ArmaLite has been issued a legal notice to retract the image because the statue is considered government property and can't be used commercially without the proper rights and fees.
But as the author, David Kiefaber, points out, would Italy have been so upset if the ad hadn't been for a big American gun? (Note also the difference in cultural sensitivities, as the America company censors David's penis.)
Here are a couple of other examples of Michelangelo's David in advertising:
It's from Italy, so of course the food, the women, and the design look great. The image above, in which the chef looks like he's about to prepare Little Mermaid alla vicentina, is part of a promotional calendar for one of Italy's biggest coffee companies.
The calendar features famous chefs from around Italy — all men — occasionally decorated with beautiful women posed as props representing their key ingredients:
Risotto, get it?
Not the most scandalous calendar to come out of a country renowned for scandalous calendars. But that mermaid shot still creeps me out.
The Independent reports that Barilla Chairman Guido Barilla told Italy’s La Zanzara radio show last night:
“I would never do an advert with a homosexual family…if the gays don’t like it they can go and eat another brand. For us the concept of the sacred family remains one of the fundamental values of the company.”
According to Italy's Gazzetta Del Sud, calls for a boycott of the world's largest pasta brand are spreading through Italy under the hashtag #boicottabarilla — now trending on Twitter.
People are also developing visuals to share:
"Love is for the brave. Everything else is Barilla pasta."
(It's a play on Barbara Alberti's "Love is for the brave, everything else is torque")
The translated hashtag #boycottbarilla has since made the jump to global social media.
The back-pedalling has already begun. In an official statement from the company, Mr. Barilla issued this non-apology: “I’m sorry if my comments on La Zanzara have created misunderstanding or polemic, or if I’ve offended anyone. In the interview I only wanted to underline the central role of the woman in the family." They have also posted a statement on Facebook: "Barilla in its advertising has always chosen to represent the family because this is the symbol of hospitality and affection for everyone." (As if that doesn't just make things worse — same-sex partners don't make families?)
If the Barilla brand is going to take a hit over this, however, it's going to take more than that to make things right. Aurelio Mancuso, president of gay-rights group Equality Italia, told the Italian press, "We accept his invitation to not eat his pasta."
Alessandro Zan, an MP with the left-wing SEL party, got a better one in:
"I've already changed pasta brands. Barilla is terrible quality."
The Pirelli calendar, a high-end promotional item since 1964, has also become known for its "arty" erotic nude photos of supermodels by a-list photographers. But as Buzzfeed's Amy Odell reports, 2013 photographer Steve McCurry elected not to photograph any of the models naked. The Associated Press adds that the calendar also includes non-models such as actress Sonia Braga and singer Marisa Monte, "chosen not only for their looks but also for their commitment to worthy causes".
Of course, the calendar still manages to eroticize some of its subjects, including then-pregnant Brazilian model Adriana Lima (above). However, it also features street scenes from the shoot location in Rio de Janiero.
A new series of Fiat 500 Arbath ads was just produced by Sapient Nitro. The first two are pretty typical "hot woman/ hot car" mindless series of beauty shots.
But the third... well...
When Ms. Menghia walks up to the photographer and caresses him, she asks (in Italian) "wanna go for a spin?" After he beats her in a road race, she slaps him and screeches "just who do you think you are?"
And then she flirts again, because Italian women are pazze that way.
Of course, if you follow advertising (or the NFL) you'll recognize this approach from Fiat's 2012 Super Bowl ad:
"This ad not only objectifies a woman’s body, it hyper-sexualizes a car as a woman’s body. Fiat asserts women and cars are interchangeable. Duh! A fast car is like a fast woman and they’re both commodities men want. So men can “own” women…you know, cause they’re just objects (oh, I mean sex objects) after all. But this ad goes a step further. The Italian-speaking Romanian model Catrinel Menghia slaps the man for leering at her as she’s bent over. In reality, women face leering, ogling and street harassment on a regular basis. But in the ad, she shifts from anger to sexuality and quickly starts seducing him. Contributing to rape culture, Fiat’s ad associates and normalizes violence with sexual arousal."
In the new ad, she's the one who initiates the sexual play (as well as ending/inflaming it with violence) and it doesn't actually say that she's an object, but it's not much better than its predecessor.
Doc Guerilla (Facebook) tipped me off that this Danish beer with the rude Italian name is being launched in Italy. I'm not really sure what the ad is supposed to be about. Is she the asshole? (In which it should be "stronza".), or is she an older lady who really digs young douchebags?
Looking for other examples of brand advertising didn't make things any clearer:
This infamous Benetton ad from 1989, by Creative director, copywriter, art director and photographer Oliviero Toscani, is still stirring up shit. A prominent Facebook breastfeeding advocacy page reports,
"Clearly Facebook doesn't like this image. This iconic, 23-year-old ad from UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON has been pulled down from countless accounts now, and [two users] have both been banned from Facebook for posting it, [one] for 24 hours, and [the other] for 3 days. It has been removed from this page several times."
Back in the '80s, Benetton was attempting to blow people's minds with its rather blunt attempts to show "interracial" love, understanding and equality. I wonder if people reporting on this image were more offended by the nipple itself, or that it showed a black woman nursing a white baby?
Italians! They make big meals for their large and unruly families, they make domestic violence sexy, they play soccer and carve ham!
At least, that's how the Germans apparently see them. In this German ad for McDonald's new Italian-themed “Mamma Italia” burger, Italian stereotypes live life with a passion that is very hard on their dinnerware — which is why McDonald's has introduced Italian food you can eat with your hands.
I always though plate smashing was a Greek thing. But what do I know?
At some point during Alta Roma fashion week, designer Gianni Molaro sent a model down the runway in this number, which was hideous enough with the arms crossed...
...until she revealed the uniboob (1:17 on the video below).
I get that fashion is theatre, but this is just slapstick comedy.
Italian artist Anna Utopia Giardino has created this series of bottles that mash up popular alcohol and kids' brands, and outfits them with baby bottle nipples in case you missed the point.
Here is the artist's statement:
"The bottles are NOT for sale, they are part of an art exhibition. This is an art project to raise social awareness on topics such as alcohol abuse by teens, alcohol abuse by pregnant women, the disinterest of some parents towards their children (abandoned for days between toys and video games), how far marketers can go to gain the attention of their younger customers. There are no commercial purposes."
Personally, I think that they would have been better without the nipples. (Which marks the first time in history that art has not been improved by showing nipples.)
It's a cute ad, part of the new "Luck is an Attitude" campaign to push Martini on a younger generation. The aggressively flirtatious nature of Italian culture may rub some the wrong way, but it's actually pretty common there. I like the way Gianni keeps re-syching with his more passive self so that the day never really diverges except in sexiness and fun. And the vintage Italian film style and music certainly fit the brand.
The most infectious tune ever written was apparently revisited in the new Muppet Movie (which I have yet to see) but I recall it best from the golden age of Sesame Street:
Slate tracked down the original song to, of all places, a 1968 Italian soft-core movie called Sweden: Heaven and Hell by Luigi Scattini.
From Amazon: "Edmund Purdom narrates a pseudo-documentary about sexuality in Sweden. It shows contraceptives for teen girls, lesbian nightclubs, wife swapping, porno movies, biker gangs, and Walpurgis Night celebrations. It also examines Sweden's purported drug, drinking and suicide problems. It features the original appearance of the Piero Umiliani's nonsense song 'Mah Nà Mah Nà' which was later popularized by 'Sesame Street' and 'The Muppet Show'"
Piero Umiliani, according to Wikipedia, "composed the scores for many exploitation films in the 1960s and 1970s, covering genres such as spaghetti western, Eurospy, Giallo, and soft sex films. Although not as widely regarded as, for example, Ennio Morricone or Riz Ortolani, he helped form the style of the typical European 1960s and 1970s jazz influenced film soundtrack, that later experienced a revival in films such as Kill Bill, and "Crepuscolo Sul Mare" in Ocean's Twelve."
In other words, he may be the most awesome composer you've never heard of. But Henson heard it when it briefly charted on US radio, and gave it eternal life.
Here's the original clip. It is pretty uncontroversial.
Not quite as outrageous as Sinead's attack, but still newsworthy.
According to their Livejournal (via Google Translate):
"Alexandra Shevchenko, past the police and security services, made her way into the center of the Vatican in St. Peter's Square and staged topless just share during Sunday Mass under the balcony of the Pope, deploying a banner reading 'Freedom for women.'
In this way, activists protested the papal patriarchal propaganda manipulated by the medieval idea of a woman's social and cultural mission. Condemnation of the use of contraceptives, the international ban on the abortion lobby, the correction of clothing and appearance of women, the ban on women in the ordained - a fetid belch a witch hunt. Sexist policies Vatican has its downside in the form of a wave of sexual crimes committed by clergy against children and women. The women's movement FEMEN favor of a free woman, devoid of prejudice, despising all forms of patriarchal slavery, blatant of which was and remains a church!
FEMEN caused panic among Vatican intelligence. Journalists were brutally dispersed, the Italian journalists dutifully adopted a ban on shooting, and were not only arrested the activist movement FEMEN, but also a journalist from Australia. The promoters of the movement had more than four hours in the Roman police, and only under pressure from the media escaped deportation."
Originally from Ukraine, FEMEN are on a tour of Europe to promote women's rights and stick it to the man.
