A few weeks ago MTV premiered a new “reality” series about young self proclaimed Guidos and Guidettes, that appear to have been rejected from Real World casting auditions, called “The Jersey Shore.” I must say that previews for this awesomely bad show had me intrigued from the very beginning, and as the season continues I get more excited for each episode. Not only has the show given MTV another hit reality show, but the cast and the lifestyle portrayed has become a marketing force with in both interactive and traditional media channels.
Although big name advertisers like Dell and Domino’s Pizza have pulled their ads from the shows time slot, it appears that many nontraditional forms of marketing are capitalizing on the show’s popularity. From blog posts, quotes, to Facebook Applications such as “Jersey Shore Name Generators” and viral videos here – are some of my favorite Jersey Shore marketing materials.
Facebook added an application that would produce your Jersey Shore nickname. Some of the more popular names from the show being Mike “The Situation” and Nicole “Snooki.” I tried the generator out and it provided me the nickname Christos “The Sausage Party” Ellis.
*note you may need to login to Facebook
Chicago’s local free news paper The Red Eye has several blog posts regarding the show. My favorite being ‘Vote for best fist-pumpin’ “Jersey Shore” quote – Part 5, which is a weekly recap of the episodes including an area to vote for your favorite quote of the week.
My favorite quote so far would have to be from DJ Pauly D where he explains how to battle to house music with fist pumps, he says “It’s like we beat up that beat!”
The new movie Youth and Revolt actually marketed their movie in ads that ran on MTV starring the Jersey Shore cast and actor Michael Cera. The cast gives Michael lessons and tips on how to be a Guido.
