The 14-minute infomercial for the 10th-anniversary edition of the three-day Gathering Of The Juggalos—think a hybrid of Burning Man and Coachella in the Illinois woods, only with more Faygo, lots more clown makeup, and a Rowdy Roddy Piper appearance (?!)—has been making the Internet rounds for the past couple of days, resulting in LOLs a-plenty from the peanut gallery. Sure, the Insane Clown Posse and their fans have owned the title of “Most Mocked Musical Subculture Out There” pretty much since the band’s inception (and despite a late charge from brokenCYDE). But what if they’re, as the infomercial brazenly states at its outset, “the most misunderstood people of all time” because no one realizes that they’re actually in on the joke?
Here’s the infomercial, in all its glory. Feel free to fast-forward through parts of it; I certainly wouldn’t blame you.
OK, let’s leave aside the hosts and announcers, who are positively Wiig-ian in their practiced awkwardness, and get to the meat of the festival. Coolio? “Helicopter rides?” Pauly Shore?? Violent J making a reference to Mecca? I dunno, you guys. Not to get all “seeing marketing attempts everywhere I go” on you, but something tells me that this particular video is an attempt to play to the contingent of bored-at-work people who are more than willing to mock Juggalos while procrastinating on their timesheets. And it’s working. Hide your children!
2009 Gathering Of The Juggalos Infomercial [YouTube]
Gathering of the Juggalos [Official site]
youtube andrew wk’s performance from last year’s gathering of the juggalo’s. amazing.
I am of the same feeling that at the VERY least, these two video hosts are in on it. One of their listed highlights is “Men on stilts”……that HAS to be a joke. Who in this day and age finds men on stilts amusing, amazing or any way entertaining?
I thought ICP was a marketing concept to capitalize on young and/or blue collar guys who needed to have a sense of being outcasts in order to feel special but wanted to listen to rap instead of emo from the very beginning, right?
Did somebody say … Roddy Piper?
When I went I was treated to Bone Thugs & Three 6 Mafia, but I don’t think we had any one that can compare to Rowdy Roddy Piper. They had a showcase of JCW (ICP’s wrestling crew, of course) and a billion other things that I’ve seemingly put out of my mind. I think that was 2001, and I know I have pictures from my experience, but I’ll spare you :) It was in Toledo that year at a convention center, and years after they were basically banned from a lot of places, and it turned into a camping weekend, which just sounds stickier and sloppier than the LOLs are worth.
Yes, I just admitted to attending a Gathering. What?! :)
anyone who hasn’t should really read this vice magazine article about a guy’s experience who attended last year. mind-blowing.
http://www.viceland.com/int/v14n10/htdocs/land_of_juggalos.php
I would say you have a point, except all of this is actually going to happen. Does all of us making fun of it spread awareness? Sure. But are we going? Of course not. ICP is terrible. Let’s say that they are putting one over on us with this ridiculous infomercial(which I have watched twice for all of the WTF moments), at the end of the day they’re still ICP. Who wins?
I recently watched this documentary about the Family Gathering:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Insane_Clown_Posse_A_Family_Underground/70118250
It contains alot of the clips shown in the infomercial above. I felt dumber after watching it. I recommend everyone watch it. However, if you don’t feel dumber when you are done, you probably belong at the Family Gathering.