Todos quieren…Gasolina…"Party in a Pouch": Examining Targeted Promotion of Liquor, Tobacco, and Other Inferior Goods to Reggaetón's Audiences

Based on field research conducted at reggaetón music concerts across the US (Puerto Rico, Chicago, New York, California), this paper interrogates audience reception and highlights ethnic branding strategies deployed by the... [ view full abstract ]

Based on field research conducted at reggaetón music concerts across the US (Puerto Rico, Chicago, New York, California), this paper interrogates audience reception and highlights ethnic branding strategies deployed by the culture industries to market a host of inferior goods (i.e., fast food, liquor, tobacco, energy drinks) to Latina/o youth through multiple market integration strategies. Focusing predominantly on direct promotion of inferior goods, this paper examines corporate sponsor tie-ins at reggaetón concerts, sign codes via point-of-sale marketing, advertising campaigns disseminated through print ads in magazines, and a host of national product endorsements featuring reggaetón music icons. Here, the author analyzes the impact of these targeted ad campaigns as they intersect with recent statistics from CDC and FTC reports that detail how the advertising industry spends what amounts to over 1 million dollar an hour marketing cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to their prime target of 18-26 year-olds (2011, 2012). While direct marketing to children is prohibited, the author underscores how the tobacco industry increasingly targets youth of color through glamorized lifestyle branding and fashionably urbanized images commonly recognized through popular music (i.e., reggaetón and hip hop). This paper focuses on the role of the culture industries in this context—working directly in the service of these industries that promote tobacco, liquor, “energy” drinks, “soft” drinks, and “fast” food to already vulnerable populations, who are disproportionately impacted by socioeconomic disparities and other critical social determinants of health—all visible markers of longstanding and sustained social injustices waged against communities of color in the US.