In a country that is so famous for its tiny clothes that it has a bikini wax named after it, Paris Hilton is still considered “too much”. Hilton went to Brazil to film an ad for the new Devassa beer. Evidently “devassa”, when translated from Portuguese with the most possible tact, means “naughty”. So who better to call as a spokesmodel than the seldom-dressed heiress? According to Brazil’s Secretariat for Women’s Affairs, the ad “devalues women—in particular, blond women”. The odd part is that the black dress Hilton dons in the ad is much bigger than most of her clothes, and certainly bigger than the bikinis on women in TV ads for other beers. But Eduardo Correia, spokesman for the private regulatory company Conar, said that, “The problem with the ad isn’t a lack of clothing, but its sensual nature. A woman in a bikini on a beach isn’t necessarily sensual; it depends on context”.
Why Would Anyone Object To Class Like This?
That’s Portuguese for “We want to be the only country whose airwaves are not clogged with vacant rich people who are famous for no good reason at all”. I’ll bet they don’t even have a version of Survivor yet.
Devassa’s “Bem Loura” (“Very Blond”) beer also uses Hilton in its advertising, and even goes so far as to have her in skimpy underwear and high heels—but that’s only an internet campaign, so Conar and the Secretariat for Women’s Affairs will have to quietly melt down over those. If Conar decides that the ads are inappropriate, it can recommend that they be pulled from TV. So far, in 23 years, not one of Conar’s recommendations has been ignored, so this doesn’t bode well for Devassa. It is, however, fine for our Paris. The check has, undoubtedly, already cleared. Tinkerbell will always be well-supplied with diamond-studded dog collars.
In the meantime, Hilton continues to dodge rumors that she, herself, starts. In a speech she gave at the Hearts for Hope benefit, she thanked her “future sister-in-law Casey”. That’s boyfriend Doug Reinhardt’s sister. Paris and Doug have been together for an unusually long time, and it has taken Reinhardt much longer to give Paris a gift to add to her collection of ostentatious, high-quality engagement rings. By this point in most of Hilton’s relationships, they’ve already broken up. Maybe they’re secretly engaged. It seems unlikely, since nothing Paris Hilton ever does is kept quiet. She was apparently feeling a bit needy at the event when she dropped the bomb that she has a ‘future sister-in-law’. The tabloids didn’t disappoint. They were filing stories before she even finished her high-pitched sentence.
It isn’t unusual for American celebrities to star in ads overseas and make serious bank for their small efforts. Hilton’s work in Rio came as no surprise. Even legitimate, talented famous people can pick up a quick million for a day’s work. A recent campaign had George Clooney selling espresso on billboards in Israel. Now Paris, too, will be all over the Holy Land, advertising the Israeli Lottery. The ad was filmed in New York, and promises that winner of the lottery will also get a shopping spree with Paris herself. No word yet on whether that would happen in New York or Tel Aviv, although we can all make an educated guess.
Banned in Brazil but welcomed in Israel. Who woulda thunk it?