Working out, tanning, doing laundry, drinking, clubbing, creeping, fist pumping and fist fighting. Who knew that “Jersey Shore” would give the Garden State such a great reputation?
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Nobody, including me. But according to a new poll, MTV’s highly enjoyable train wreck of a reality show has actually improved peoples’ perceptions of the Garden State.
Yup, you read that right: People who’ve watched those self-proclaimed guidos and guidettes fist-pumping at Karma actually like New Jersey more than those who have not seen the show!
That is, at least according to PublicMind, a recent national poll conducted by the state’s own Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Here’s the details: Three out of five respondents who’ve seen the show look favorably upon Joisey, compared to 44% of those who haven’t seen it. Meanwhile, one out of five people who have seen “Jersey Shore” (that’s 20%) has an unfavorable view of the most densely populous state in the nation, and about one in five who has not seen the show (or 18%) has a negative perception of the state.
“While we can’t be sure that ‘Jersey Shore’ is making people like New Jersey more, it certainly doesn’t seem to be hurting,” concluded Dan Cassino, survey analyst for PublicMind and a Fairleigh Dickinson political science professor, in a press release. “It could be that people who already have a favorable view of New Jersey are simply more likely to watch the show, while those who don’t like Jersey aren’t going to watch the show anyway.”
However, the survey does not address the show’s portrayal of Italian-Americans, who are referred to as “guidos” and “guidettes,”* and their penchant for GTL’ing the day away.
“I don’t think anyone would claim that the TV show has anything to do with the real New Jersey,” Cassino said. “Still, the image it portrays doesn’t seem to be hurting the state as some have feared.”
The poll also indicated that when the show’s viewers think of New Jersey they tend to speak about the Shore, boardwalk and ocean (13%) more than non-viewers do (8%).
“New Jersey has been using ad campaigns to build awareness of the Shore for years,” Cassino explained. “Legislators may not be happy with how the state is being portrayed, but the show links New Jersey to its beaches, which is a much better focus than the turnpike.”
Amen to that!
*It’s recently been revealed in the tabloids that at least three of the “Jersey Shore” cast members – Snooki, J-Woww and Ronnie – are not even of Italian descent.
Ava Gacser's Blog 