'The Sopranos' Effect

To be successful in this new marketplace, businesses must change how they portray the American family and how they market to it. Consumers are savvy, and they are tired of the sweet, sanitized version of life they see in marketing, advertising and television. Their daily lives are more like the Sopranos: difficult, gritty and edgy. In order to connect with consumers, you need to understand their struggles and portray them realistically. The brilliance of "The Sopranos" is the portrayal and convergence of suburban family values with the rough, violent world in which we live. It is the clash of familiar baby-boomer anxieties with family responsibilities, social acceptability and finding one's soul.