So bad it’s good…

The Austin restaurant Torchy’s Tacos is by no means the first company to use stereotypical images of the devil and references to sin in advertising and marketing, it represents a shift in an American culture and the influences of religion. The mascot of Torchy’s Tacos is a small red devil with long ears, horns, and a pitchfork. Although it is a cartoon devil with clearly no realistic elments it is not all that different from representations of the devil throughout history that were used to elicit fear. The motto of this local chain of “Damn Good Tacos” is not controversial in our cultural. This is unusual considering when paired with the Satan the use of damn takes on religious significants of being condemned to hell.  The modern convention of using Satan and sin to suggest desirability shows the dramatic changes America’s culture has been through. For most of America’s history, Satan was not something is take light heartedly and definitely wasn’t used as a positive advertisement tool. Three hundred years ago during the time of the Salem Witch Trials merely being accused of associated yourself with the devil resulted in public execution. Even during our parents’ and our lifetime association with the devil wasn’t accepted as evident in the backlash against games such as dungeons and dragons and artist such as Ozzy Osbourne. While there are still groups opposed to the use of strong evil and demonic figures, like the Christian groups against the reading of Harry Potter, popular culture has become more liberal. In our culture  the usage of evil is accepted with usually little controversy. Additionally, the use of religious references in advertisements shows the prevalence of Christian beliefs and theology. Whether you are a Christian or not, Christian ideology plays a significant role in the American culture.

Image Credit: http://torchystacos.com/files/gimgs/1_11torchyssignage.jpg