«Miami-Dade is not Vice City»: the opposition of the county to the promotional operation of GTA VI
Rockstar Games considered an advertising shot of epic proportions for the launch of GTA VI: temporarily transforming some of the icons of the real Miami into the city of Vice City of the game. Imagine landing in Miami and bump into a message “Welcome to Vice City”, climb on a custom Metromover theme Grand Theft Auto, or even see the Miami International Airport associated with “Vice City Airport”. The boundary between the royal city and the one built by Rockstar would become labile. However, the sheriff of Miami-Dade County, Rosie Cordero-Stutz, and Commissioner Juan Carlos “JC” Bermudez publicly expressed a strong opposition to the proposal, asking for public resources not to be used for the promotion of the game. Their position was made in an institutional statement, with the emblematic phrase "Miami-Dade County is not Vice City". It is important to emphasize that this opposition does not imply a ban on GTA VI or an immediate block of the promotional campaign. It is a formalization of an institutional opposition to the potential collaborations between Rockstar and the county. Rockstar intended to completely erase the border between Miami and Vice City. The idea was simple, but of great impact from the point of view of marketing: to reproduce in the place that inspired Vice City the very setting of the game. Vice City, for decades, represents a satirical reinterpretation of Miami within the universe of Grand Theft Auto. With GTA VI, Rockstar has reconstructed an entire version of Florida called Leonida, bringing Vice City back to the center of experience and using places, architectures, culture, fauna and absurd elements typical of Florida as a basis for its open world. For the launch of the game, it would have been almost natural to complete the circle: bring Vice City into the city that inspired it. Rockstar and Miami-Dade had in fact discussed possible promotional initiatives, including “Welcome to Vice City” messages for passengers arriving at the Miami International Airport, customizations of Metromover and urban elements themed. The most daring idea was the temporary association of Miami International Airport at "Vice City Airport", offering for a few weeks the experience of physically entering the world of GTA VI. The reaction of Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, motivated by the paradoxical nature of Grand Theft Auto (which is based on the reproduction of deviant crimes and behaviors), highlighted the need for vigilance against such promotional initiatives. VERDETTO: CRITICO L’opposizione dello sceriffo Cordero-Stutz e del commissario Bermudez alla proposta di Rockstar è, a mio avviso, l'elemento più interessante di questa vicenda. Non si tratta di una semplice opposizione al gioco stesso – dato che, come già detto, la commissione comunale di Miami Beach ha approvato le iniziative – ma di un rifiuto radicale di coinvolgere risorse pubbliche in una campagna promozionale che, per quanto audace e potenzialmente efficace dal punto di vista del marketing, poggia su un’assurdità intrinseca: l'idea stessa di fondere fisicamente Vice City con Miami. La formalizzazione di questa opposizione sotto forma di un comunicato istituzionale, con la frase "Miami-Dade County is not Vice City", è un gesto eloquente e, a mio parere, intelligente da parte delle autorità locali, che riconoscono il potenziale conflitto tra il mondo del gioco e la realtà della vita quotidiana. L’uso del termine “paradossale” per descrivere Grand Theft Auto, riferito dallo sceriffo, evidenzia l'essenza di questa discrepanza. Il fatto che Rockstar abbia puntato a cancellare completamente i confini tra Miami e Vice City, come ben documentato, rivela una strategia di marketing eccessivamente ambiziosa e potenzialmente dannosa per l'immagine della contea, soprattutto se associata a un gioco noto per il suo comportamento criminale e la sua violenza. L’idea del "Vice City Airport" in particolare, con i suoi possibili impatti sulle infrastrutture reali, solleva serie preoccupazioni sulla gestione delle risorse pubbliche e sul rispetto dei limiti tra intrattenimento e realtà.
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