Vince the ShamWow Guy Recruits Eminem to Rehab His Hooker-Beating Image. Who Else?
The media rehab of prostitute-beater Vince Shlomi -- better known as the ShamWow guy -- has begun. He's created a version of his Slap Chop ad to promote Eminem's new album Recovery (video below).
Brands often need to be relaunched, especially if they're affected by scandal. By hooking up with Eminem, Shlomi has found a new route back for an advertiser who stepped beyond the pale: He's chosen to work with someone whose brand he can't damage with his past moral infractions. Eminem's brand isn't dependent on moral rectitude, to put it mildly (he once wrote a song about killing his wife, for instance). It reaffirms Shlomi's selling ability, and that's the kind of morally neutral business success Shlomi needs right now.
It also gives Shlomi (also known as Vince Offer) a new story to tell and to have told about him. That'll go a long way to replacing the old story about that bizarre, bloody night in a Miami hotel room.
Lastly, the move is smart because it keeps Shlomi alive as a pop culture object. Although his direct-response TV infomercials may be pitched at house-owning suburbanites, on the internet he's developed a cult following for electro-oriented remixes of the Slap Chop spot.
He may be a figure of fun, but he's a figure of fun who's a tactical genius.
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