The bloggosphere has been flooded with views and news about CBS’ upcoming drama Cane, which debuts this Tuesday and tells the story of a Cuban-American family that runs a rum and sugar business in South Florida. Think the Sopranos meets Destilando Amor.
Some of the bloggers’ complaints have to do with potential misconceptions about Cuban-Americans (no, not all of them are members of the mob running a fishy business). Others are still fuming at CBS for not making a little effort to find Cuban actors (Jimmy Smits and Rita Moreno are Puerto Rican, damn it!).
Still, my favorite Cane feature is the mojito-flavored print ad the network ran in the Sept. 7 issue of Rolling Stone magazine (above). The flavor strip, designed to taste like a lime mojito sans alcohol, comes in a tamper-resistant packet and pitches the imaginary Duque Rum.
“We are always looking to stretch the boundaries of traditional advertising by finding creative ways to market our prime-time series,” George Schweitzer, president of CBS Marketing Group told the New York Post.
I wonder what an ad for Ugly Betty would taste like…
MI BLOG ES TU BLOG 
Some Latino is better than no Latino at all, which is where network TV has been headed for the last few years. Now, looks like we’re popular again, or is it a stint for Hispanic Heritage Month? We’ll see.
Adrian
http://www.calmagazine.com
I liked the ad better than the show. It looked like Jimmy Smits playing Jimmy Smits. Maybe it’ll get better as the season goes, but if not, I figure it’ll get replaced come January.
Adrian
http://www.calmagazine.com
The ad is certainly novel. Certainly something I would have paid attention to if I had that magazine. As for the show, I think it needs some time, though CBS is putting forth a good amount of ad dollars to promote it, which is a promising sign for a show starring Latinos. There were posters all over the subway in addition to TV spots and this Rolling Stone ad. Nitpicking over casting is fine (it’s diverse, just like we are), but getting the show on in the first place is still an accomplishment.
Ok. I watched again last night and the story so far has Latinos killing, doing drugs, and controlling immigrant flow. I agree it is good to see Latinos on network TV, but come on, the writers need to do much better than that.
Adrian
http://www.calmagazine.com