The Super Bowl Ads Where Ethnic Elbowed In
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One way we might judge this year’s Super Bowl ads is by how much they reflect a total-market view of the world. I am not talking about ethnic casting, or ethnic spokespeople, but rather the presence of cultural cues. These are subtle suggestions that ethnic values or habits — primarily Hispanic, since that is the most powerful multicultural influence in the country right now — are being assimilated into mainstream media.
For purposes of this list, Budweiser’s use of Stevie Wonder as a voodoo mystic doesn’t count; yet elderly Caucasians seeming to adopt elements of Chicano culture, witha party scene and tattoos in an otherwise mainstream pitch for Taco Bell, does count.
The Hispanic cues show not just growing Hispanic influence, but are evidence that at least some ethnic norms are being appropriated more broadly by U.S. popular culture.
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