A Hap-Hazard Return to Mediocrity

RUDI CIR, MADISON - Stagnantly stumbling down a stairwell of exhaustion and self doubt, the Gangsta offers the following as a means to an end. My extended hiatus from the pages of Yeah, I Figured can be attributed to many understandable distractions: new career, new house, new classes...mainly though it's because I'm a self-absorbed asshole concerned only about my well-being and how I go about getting it. Is that so bad? How do you fully love and embrace others without clarity of self? I don't have the answers for either, but I do love The Sopranos and recycling past works. Here's something that satisfies both of those needs, a brief perspective on the show's print campaign - an assignment due last week for Advertising class.

HBO has always been extremely savvy in touting and promoting its stable mate of Emmy-winning original series. In particular, the cable network’s print ads for The Sopranos are second to none. In fact these series of cast shots have become the new and often duplicated standard of series promotion – both cable and network.

What stands out most about the ads, and in particular Season Five’s, is the aesthetic of the shot. World renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz depicts the show’s macabre sophistication by photographing the lead cast in a somewhat ludicrous staging. The shot is ominous. Dark clouds cover a setting sun. Tony’s beloved ducks are seen in the distance fleeing the scene. Current cast members are situated on what appears to be either part of a New Jersey shore line or land fill. Dead bodies of past characters underscore those that have managed to survive the first four seasons of this ground breaking series.

The ad is extravagant and one of a kind, much like the show. The Sopranos at this point had become event viewing for HBO and its print campaign replicated that feeling into a single still image. Flipping through GQ or Esquire, readers couldn’t help but pause and study this ad’s sexuality and brutality. It’s a steel vein of an advertisement.

The identity of the show had firmly been established and each season’s subsequent promotional campaign was based on the direction of the show. This ad certainly signified the impending doom that would greet Tony and company during the show’s final two seasons. And it did so in a very sleek, attention demanding way. Like any good advertisement, this one had onlookers stop and take notice.

Effective? You bet. Questionable taste? Of course. But for a show like The Sopranos, the content is more than appropriate and justifiable.