And I Won't Tell 'Em Your Name

I was watching TV the other day and saw a commercial for WalMart that featured Queen Latifah. This was a follow up to the ads WalMart put out just before Christmas in which Queen Latifah shops for everyone on her list by buying them gift cards. In the new commercial, she sees a friend at the register paying for her purchases. The friend exclaims, "Hi Queen. I was just using the gift card you got me." Queen Latifah asks her if she has found everything she needs, then hints about purchasing a copy of her latest DVD, Beauty Shop.

Leaving aside the question of whether or not doing ads for WalMart means that an artist has sold out, I had a few issues with the whole thing.

First, her name is not actually Queen Latifah. Unless she has legally had her name changed, Queen Latifah is a stage name and she has a much more pedestrian moniker. (One that is remarkably similar to someone I went to high school with, actually. But that's beside the point.) I would like to think that someone to whom she would give gifts and apparently feels comfortable accosting in the checkout line at the store might be able to refer to her by her given name. Besides, it isn't as if Queen is supposed to be a first name is it? I would assume it's a title and if one were to call her by her stage name, Latifah would be the more logical choice. The situation actually reminded me very much of an incident when I was a teenager and a group of my friends met two Mormon elders. They introduced themselves as Elder Johnson and Elder Smith. One girl was just amazed that they both just happened to have the same uncommon first name. Yes, she was blonde.

Second, Are we really to believe that Queen Latifah actually shops at WalMart? For her Christmas gifts? Please. I have a very hard time picturing any Academy Award Nominated actress buying WalMart gift cards for her friends.

Finally, when did it become acceptable to go up to people and chastise them for what they purchase using a gift card you gave them? This is really quite rude to begin with, but in this case she guilts her friend into buying a movie starring her. It's nice to have support of your friends, but when you reach the point that you have to force them to support you, it may not count for much. Really, I suppose we should just consider her friend lucky that it was a copy of Beauty Shop and not Taxi.

Until later...