The Problematic Transformation of The Real Housewives of New Jersey

The Problematic Transformation of The Real Housewives of New Jersey

It is no secret that product placement is highly prevalent in reality television. It is uncommon to watch an episode of a reality contest show without seeing some sort of poorly hidden advertisement, most commonly seen in prizes or as part of a challenge. In Bravo’s The Real Housewives series, product placement has always taken place, and now it is most frequent with the stars’ own products. Between Teresa Guidice’s “Skinny Italian” brand, the Manzo family’s “blk.” water venture, and Kathy Wakile’s “Dolci Della Dea” cannoli kit, The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast members have used the show as an outlet to promote their own products and brands. This is not a problem, though, since viewers expect product placement and self-promotion from a reality show like The Real Housewives. The issue that arises is the problematic transformation the show’s narrative has taken; instead of revolving around the cast members, their families, and the drama that ensues within their friendship groups, the show now revolves around drama about their products and brands, and how that takes a toll on their relationships and lives. Product placement in The Real Housewives of New Jersey has transitioned to solely self-promotion, which has become problematic as it dominates the entire narrative and has transformed the series.

In his chapter on ABC’s Modern Family, Kevin Sandler describes the growing emergence of product placement. “With more viewers making use of ad-skipping digital video recorders, watching TV on DVD, or streaming (or stealing) content off the Internet, marketers have begun to push for more ways to intertwine their product within network programming itself… All [types of product placement] have become a staple of broadcast and cable television, particularly with the influx of “non-scripted” or reality television…” (Sandler 254-5). Product placement is so prevalent that it is expected in reality television. In the case of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, though, product placement has turned into self-promotion, and as an audience member, the problem I have with this is that the show’s narrative has become dominated by drama revolving around their self-promotion. A key component of the problem with this transformation is that it is non-organic. “‘Organic’ – a marketing term that suggests seamless, subtle, or inconspicuous product integration – disguises the notion that [the product] must always be presented in a positive, consumer-friendly light,” Sandler explains (Sandler 258). Self-promotion is so obvious and overshadowing in The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which makes the series difficult to watch, since the entire show has evolved into riffs about the cast member’s brands and personal business ventures.

In Season 3 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, much of the drama and conflict that fed the storyline of the show was regarding Teresa Guidice’s comments in her recently published cookbook, Fabulicious! In the season finale, Caroline Manzo sits around the table with her children reading parts of the introduction of Fabulicious! In her introduction, Teresa wrote that Caroline is as Italian as Olive Garden, is only one sixteenth Italian, and criticizes Caroline’s son, Chris’s, business idea that he expressed on earlier seasons for a strip club carwash (“Portrait of an Italian Family” originally aired October 9, 2011). This did not sit well for the Manzo family, who has openly expressed the importance of family and their pride in their Italian heritage throughout the series. Hurt by these comments, Caroline spoke out, claiming, “She’s hurting people to bring herself up,” (Hollywood Life Staff 2011). Teresa responded by claiming Caroline was jealous of her cookbook, and that it was all meant as a joke (Triggs 2011). In the Fabulicious! introduction, Teresa also took stabs at her own sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, stating, “Do I wish my baby sister-in-law didn’t copy everything I do down to the shoes I wear and the chairs on my front porch? Of course!” (Hollywood Life Staff 2011). In her Bravo blog, Gorga retorted, “If she has to throw names and “jokes” in there to help the book sell, then so be it,” (Gorga 2012). All of this friendship and family drama revolved around one common problem: Teresa’s cookbook. This scenario is just one instance of self-promotion in The Real Housewives of New Jersey going too far and completely dictating the plot, as all these issues stemmed from the release of Fabulicious! While some might view this as their usual drama, it is actually just giving more attention to Teresa’s venture, as it was discussed through the entire episode, in the season’s reunions, and in countless articles after the episodes aired. All this commotion about the comments in Teresa’s introduction were inadvertently keeping her brand and her name in the show and promoting her newest business.

Another instance of self-promotion completely dominating the narrative in The Real Housewives of New Jersey was when Kathy Wakile, Teresa’s cousin, launched her at-home cannoli kit in New York City. The episode shows the event and focuses on the fact that Kathy’s friends and family, including Teresa, Melissa, and family friend Jacqueline Laurita, are not there. Kathy exclaims, “Where is everybody? Nobody’s here yet!” and continues, “I invited everybody personally. What the f**k!” (“The Blonde Drops a Bombshell, originally aired September 15, 2013). During the episode, the audience is left in suspense of if Kathy’s family and friends will support her launch. Finally, they make an appearance. In her Bravo blog, Kathy wrote, “But where were my family and friends?! Fashionably late, that's how they roll,” (Wakile 2013). Teresa, arguably the series’ biggest source of drama, later said in an episode interview that the cannolis were edible (“The Blonde Drops a Bombshell, originally aired September 15, 2013), clearly a snarky comment towards her cousin, Kathy. When later asked about Teresa’s comment, Kathy said, “Well she knows damn well they are edible… Women are supposed to support each other not bring each other down,” (Reality Tea 2013). Similar to the cookbook incident, the majority of this episode, as well as interviews and cast blogs afterwards, revolved around the drama surrounding the launch of Kathy’s new company, Dolci della Dea. Just like the drama around Fabulicious!, all of this ultimately keeps Dolci della Dea in the media and the name on viewer’s minds. The self-promotion of Kathy’s company overshadowed the entire episode, since the majority of the drama and plotlines in this episode stemmed from that.

Self-promotion in The Real Housewives of New Jersey has become problematic because it dominates the entire narrative of the show. While product placement has always been prevalent in reality television, it has made a troubling transition in The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and now the entire show is overrun with the cast members’ self-promotion. In addition to the aforementioned examples, there has been drama around Melissa Gorga’s marital advice book being a real book compared to Teresa’s cookbooks, the Manzo son’s restaurant opening in Hoboken, New Jersey, and a lot of family commotion over Melissa’s singing career. The problem at hand is not that there is drama, because that is the essentially the backbone of the Real Housewives series, but rather that the majority of drama and storyline is based around the cast members’ own businesses. The narrative in the series has shifted to solely promoting the individual ventures of each housewife, and any turmoil that revolves around that. This is problematic because firstly, the entire show is now just advertisement for the housewives’ businesses, but also because it is non-organic and obvious, making the show even more low culture than many already believe it is.

Works Cited

Gorga, Melissa. "Like a Prayer." Bravo TV Official Site. N.p., 30 Apr. 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.             <http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-jersey/season-4/blogs/melissa-gorga/like-a-prayer?page=0,2>.

Helm, Burt, and Tom Lowry. "Blasting Away at Product Placement." Businessweek. N.p., 15             Oct. 2009. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_43/b4152060060411.htm>.

Hollywood Life Staff. "Teresa Giudice's Cast Mates Should Detest Her For Her Cookbook Insults!" Hollywood Life. N.p., 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://hollywoodlife.com/2011/10/25/teresa-giudice-caroline-manzo-real-housewives-new-jersey-cookbook-fabulicious-fight/>.

“Portrait of an Italian Family.” The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Bravo. Television.

Reality Tea. "Kathy Wakile Says Teresa Giudice Misunderstood Why She Joined The Show; Responds To Teresa’s Cannoli Slam." Reality Tea. N.p., 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.realitytea.com/2013/10/01/kathy-wakile-says-teresa-giudice-misunderstood-why-she-joined-the-show-responds-to-teresas-cannoli-slam/>.

Sandler, Kevin. “Modern Family: Product Placement.” 253-60. Online

“The Blonde Drops a Bombshell.” The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Bravo. Television.

Triggs, Charlotte. "Teresa Giudice: Caroline Manzo Must Be Jealous of My Cookbook." PEOPLE.com. People Magazine, 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20535769,00.html>.

Wakile, Kathy. "Kathy's Cannoli Success." Bravo TV Official Site. N.p., 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-jersey/season-5/blogs/kathy-wakile/kathys-cannoli-success>.