Jennifer Lopez Fiat American Music Awards 2011 Controversy

by hans | November 23, 2011 10:47 pm

After her earlier appearances in MTV style TV commercials[1] for the US market Fiat 500, Jennifer Lopez took the concept of product placement one step further by promoting the Fiat on stage at the recent American Music Awards 2011. Her ‘barely there’ outfit and raunchy moves are, how should we put it, not within the norms even by the standards of music industry. But then again, frankly that isn’t very surprising these days anymore. What was more controversial was not her gyrating hips or backing up her rear against Pit Bull. What annoyed her fellow artists and music fans was her promoting a Fiat 500 Cabrio on stage. It is one thing to slot a BMW 7-series and Swarovski crystal in a MTV, like what J-Lo did in her ‘On The Floor’ MTV, but to turn an on stage music performance into a car commercial is another thing altogether. Critics slammed her for selling out to corporate sponsorship.

AMA 2011′S presenter John Legend tweeted “That had to be the most shameless thing I’ve ever seen in a performance. I was genuinely shocked.” Critics at LA Times said “It wasn’t that Lopez wasn’t really wearing any clothes, as audiences expect that nowadays. Instead, it was Lopez’s choice of an accessory, which in this case was a car. When the actual commercial ran not too long after the performance, the only difference was the emphasis on the name of the brand.”

Which why we think Fiat USA is doing the right thing! As marketing gurus will say, if you are not attracting criticism, you’re not trying hard enough. Fiat went from being a brand with almost zero recognition amongst young Americans, into a subject of controversy almost overnight. The task of a young ambitious brand is not to please everybody, but separate those acceptors from the rejectors. Separate those who will like you, allowing you to target them and remove the noises from those who won’t hear you.

While J-Lo’s fellow artists and attendees of AMA 2011 and the media were quick to criticize Jennifer Lopez for selling out artistic performances to corporate sponsorship, they conveniently ignored that the AMA 2011 was held in a place called Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.