The first time I saw this ad for AT&T Wireless, I mostly noticed the actor playing the concierge in the first scene. At first, I was like, “Is that Ty Burrell, star of the rock-awesome series Modern Family?” Then I thought, “No… wait… it’s David Pittu, Tony nominee and all-around excellent actor. Good for him!”
I doubt this ad was designed to make me think about David Pittu, but that’s not the only way it goes off message.
This commercial teaches me three things, but they’re not about AT&T’s wireless service. They’re about Mariah Carey, who cameos as the hotel guest that the concierges are trying to please:
(1) Mariah Carey is a whip-cracking harridan who blows into a hotel with a lengthy list of freakish demands, and when she doesn’t get her way, she freaks out.
Why else would the concierges be so nervous? Why else would the junior concierge’s hand be shaking at :08? It’s because he is terrified of Mariah’s wrath.
(2) Despite the high maintenance hell that Mariah Carey unleashes on hotel staffs around the world, she fronts that she’s a regular gal.
Think about it: The entire ad wants us to believe that these concierges are afraid of their client, but when we finally see that the client is Mariah Carey, she’s all pleasant smiles and soft compliments. What’s more, she’s rocking the same loose ringlets that she had for “Vision of Love,” a video that was released when she came across like an approachable city girl instead of a lacquered emissary from the planet Breathycoo.
Carey’s been sporting that hairstyle everywhere, suggesting she’s really invested in softening her image. I’m sure that’s the mission this commercial is meant to extend, but there’s no getting around the notion that these gentleman are working for a meanie. The sudden reveal of Mariah Carey doesn’t make me say, “Oh, why were they nervous? It’s just sweet ole Mimi!” It makes me assume that the junior concierge (JC) is only receiving her approval because he found the right kind of dog bed.
(3) Mariah Carey’s awesome sexual potency can turn gay men straight.
Because come on. As Laura McMaster pointed out in an e-mail she sent me, JC is totally coded as a gay man. But after Carey blows him a kiss, he suddenly becomes a swaggering stud who kicks hotel elevator buttons and brags to his friends about banging a babe. Imagine if Mariah had actually kissed him. He would have founded Penthouse magazine.
So… yeah. This ad doesn’t make me think about phones, but it does make me think that Mariah Carey has unsettling powers. I guess the only winner here is David Pittu.
7 responses so far ↓
1 c // Nov 4, 2009 at 8:16 am
This commercial teaches me that the hotel staff are incompetent. Surely they could have started collecting items before the plane landed.
2 Laura Mc. // Nov 4, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Well, and I even wonder if the commercial succeeds in making a really subtle joke. To me, the actor’s comic timing is GOLDEN, and I’ve laughed out loud at the ending more than once.
Is it a joke about how we WILL code this character as gay, so the build up is especially effective when we see the reveal that he is not? Or, maybe he is, and he is making an ironic macho joke? So many options..
Ultimately, is it more likely that the writers refused to commit to having “this kind” of protagonist? It’s not enough. It doesn’t sell or whatever.
In order for the plot to be most effective, we have to have some sort of relationship established between the mystery list maker and th character.. so we learn he has the hots for her and it’s in a funny way. Maybe there is nothing more to ask from the ad.
I am 100% with you on going off message. I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to go here with a Samsung ad…
3 emdarion // Nov 5, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Can you take me to,
Breathycoo!
Can you take me to,
Breathycoo.
I love it, you said Breathycoo
4 Michael // Nov 8, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Could you share why you see the character coded as gay and not simply as boyish, uncommanding, and star-struck?
5 Mark Blankenship // Nov 10, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Hey Michael –
Fair question. For me, he reads gay because of his sibilance and his dainty bow when he’s picking up the orchids at :08 and because he has the hyper-groomed appearance of a lot of the gay men I see in Hell’s Kitchen. Stereotyping? Yes. But there you have it.
6 Michael // Nov 13, 2009 at 1:36 am
Dunno. Just to pick nits: What you’re calling a dainty bow is just reaching to pick up the flowers from a step or so away from the counter (because he’s in a hurry), and while he’s somewhat sibilant on “orchids” and “just”–although hardly more so than his boss or Mariah or the voiceover–it’s not so evident on “this” and “just.” And his attire is identical to that of his boss . . . (who may be threatening him as much as Mariah . . .) So–TOTALLY coded as a gay man? Debatable. Just sayin’ . . .
7 Michael // Nov 13, 2009 at 1:41 am
Sorry–I hear sibilance on “orchids,” thanks,” and “just,” but not on “excuse” and “this.” Details, details–
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