Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Television Advertising Overload

If you think that there is more and more advertising than ever today on television you are probably right. Advertising is coming at you more often than ever on television and in new and sometimes unethical ways. Here are some of the trends I have noticed:

Extra Commercials: I first noticed this change a few months ago when two of the shows I watch regularly changed the length of their segments. Both Fast Money and Mad Money are 60 minute shows on CNBC. Each used to go to commercial only once between the 45 minute mark and the end of the show at the bottom of the hour. Then a few months back they both starting splitting that last 12-13 minute segment into two segments 5-6 minutes long. This allowed them to sneak in an extra 2-3 minutes of advertising.

At first I thought this was simply a sign that they were able to sell some extra advertising space but I have since come to the conclusion that this move is more likely motivated by greed. They are just trying to cram more and more commercials into their time slot. It's one thing if a show is successful and is able to sell more advertising space. It's quite another to dramatically change the flow and content of the show for the sake of the all mighty dollar.

Coming Back From A Commercial To Go To A Commercial: Both Fast Money and Mad Money occasionally employ the most evil of all advertising tactics. They come back from a commercial to go to a commercial. This happened most recently yesterday on Fast Money at about 5:51pm ET. They came back from 3 minutes of commercials, talked for about 15 seconds, and then went to 3 more minutes of commercials.

Between the extra advertising segment and the coming back from commercial to go to a commercial, my opinion of both Fast Money and Mad Money has gone way down. In fact, I regularly switch the channel to ESPN to watch PTI when that first commercial break happens at 45 past the hour. There is so little actual content and commentary from that point to the bottom of the hour that I am not really missing anything. They want their viewers to sit there through those extra ads but I refuse to do so.

Product Placement: Product placement is nothing new in the world of television. An occasional can of Coke here or an Apple logo there is no big deal in my opinion. Unfortunately product placement has gotten totally out of hand. The best example of this recently was the How I Met Your Mother (which isn't even about how Ted met his wife anymore) episode on 10/11/2010. They should have just retitled the show "How I Met Microsoft" that night. The number of product placements Microsoft had in this 22 minute show was incredulous. I am not going to quantify them as it's already been done. Check it out! The bottom line is that it was extremely egregious.

Cutting Out Content: This is the newest and most disturbing trend I have seen. Some networks are now editing classic shows and reducing their running length so they can cram in more ads. One of my favorite shows growing up was The Wonder Years. There was no mistaking when it came on the air as the Joe Cocker cover of The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends" was always played at the top of the show. The Wonder Years is now on The Hub on weekday evenings, but it's theme song is often left on the cutting room floor. In addition, The Hub seems to edit out some of the content of the actual show as well. Quite often the show will suddenly go to commercial in the middle of a scene and when it comes back from commercial it is in the middle of a new, unrelated scene.

Mood: Enraged.


Song of the Day:

"What would you do if I sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on me."

-With A Little Help From My Friends

Joe Cocker

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Best Names In College Baseball 2010

Tonight was the last college baseball game played at Omaha's iconic Rosenblatt Stadium. The College World Series, CWS for short, has called it home since 1950. As is the trend in baseball, a new downtown stadium is being constructed in Omaha which will signal the end of Rosenblatt. Like most iconic sports stadiums of the past it will not live on, it will be torn down in the name of progress. The unjust ending for Rosenblatt is that is will be turned into, acccckkkkkkkkk, a parking lot for the zoo next door. Personally, I think this is a major injustice. There is something about college baseball and those red, yellow, and blue seats that just go together like a hot dog and a coke.

The last game was a gem. A classic pitchers duel that went into extra innings. In the end, the South Carolina Gamecocks won their first ever NCAA baseball title with a 2-1 win in 12 innings over UCLA with a walk off hit. It was a fitting ending to the College World Series' time at Rosenblatt.

I am sure that the new stadium, TD Ameritrade Park, will serve the CWS well in the coming years. I have my fingers crossed that it will have those sweet red, yellow, and blue seats but I am not holding my breath.

Here is my list of the best names in college baseball for 2010. I didn't watch as much baseball this year as in the past. There just wasn't as much coverage with the friggin' World Cup going on. Don't worry, I haven't watched even 1 second of World Cup soccer action and never well. I am much too strong to be drawn to the Dark Side of the force.

The same rules apply as my original list in 2009.
* Only one player from any team can make the list
* You can only make the list once

The Best Names In College Baseball 2010:

Starting Pitcher: Boogie Anagnostou, Rice

Relief Pitcher: Jason Fuqua, Arkansas

Catcher: Yasmini Grandall, U of Miami

1st Base: Blake Dean, LSU

2nd Base: Cody Regis, UCLA

3rd Base: Nick Vickerson, Mississippi State

Shortstop: Caleb Bushyhead, Oklahoma

Left Field: Rand Ravnaas, Georgetown

Center Field: Matt Den Dekker, Florida

Right Field: Yoandy Barroso, FIU

Designated Hitter: Russell Moldenhauer, Texas

Coach: Jim Schlossnagle, TCU


Mood: Nostalgic


Song of the Day:

"I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down."

- Bittersweet Symphony

The Verve


It's Ironic: That my bank sends me a paper confirmation each time I set up an electronic funds transfer.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Wasted Time

The bad thing about having 333 cable channels is that if you surf up and down them long enough you will probably find something to watch. If I had a mere 57 channels or some other paltry number I am sure that I would be much more intelligent than I am now because I would do so much more reading.

I really don't watch an overabundance of TV, a big reason why is that I don't have a TV in my bedroom. I physically have to get up, walk out to the living room to watch TV. It's probably a good 30 foot walk. Whew! I am tired just thinking about it.

That being said there are times when I inevitably lumber out, sit down in my favorite chair and fire up the remote. As I sit and surf the guide there are always a few ultra cheezy movies that whenever I see them I will instantly turn to them and be glued to the screen until they are over. Here's a sample:

Weekend At Bernie's - a movie you probably couldn't get away with making in 2009 - but back in 1989 we apparently weren't quite as cultured as we are now. Who knew you could have so much fun carting a dead guy around for a weekend? The saddest thing is they even made a Weekend at Bernie's 2.

Van Wilder - something about the slacker turned hero plot always sucks me in. Maybe it's the music, it has a very good soundtrack. It certainly isn't Tara Reid's plastic face. Write that down!

One Crazy Summer - an ultra cheezy 1986 flick with John Cusack, Demi Moore and the lovable Bobcat Goldthwaith. It always makes me want to vacation on Martha's Vineyard, not that I could afford to these days.

Hot Fuzz - I never cared much for Shaun of the Dead but I have probably watched this flick at least 20 times. Lots of action, good music and a ridiculous plot. It's a perfect movie for 1:00am.

Captain Ron - if you don't wanna watch a one eyed ship captain (Kurt Russell) drive Martin Short nearly crazy you must be retarded! I much prefer this over Pirates of the Caribbean.

Real Genius - another classic 80s flick featuring a young Val Kilmer as a brainiac, slacker college student turned hero. Plus it has ultra luscious 80s vixen Deborah Foreman - of Valley Girl fame.

I could keep going - Super Troopers, Loser, The New Guy - but I will stop here.


Mood: Wick-frig-some (Wicked Friggin' Awesome).


Failed Advertising Slogan of the Day:

"Heartburn? Kick it in the junk with Zantac."

Saturday, March 3, 2007

How Much Would It Take?

I was watching an episode of my guilty pleasure TV show recently - Beverly Hills 90210. Go ahead and laugh and before you ask, no I don't masturbate to Tori Spelling. Anyway, on the show Donna's mom offered a guy Donna was dating $10,000 to drop out of her life. This guy Ray (Jamie Walters) didn't take the money, he was just so in love he could not be bought. The thing is, Ray and Donna had only been going out a few weeks, so how in love could they really have been at that point? So that got me thinking, how much would it take?

I am thinking if someone offered me ten large to stop seeing some girl I had only been dating a few weeks I would probably do a Steve Miller Band - "Take The Money and Run". Sure, I might be missing out on the love of my life, but I would have a whole bunch of dead presidents to keep me company. You can call me a sellout or a man-whore or say I am not romantic if you want but I bet you have a price too.

Offhand I am not particularly worried that I will actually have to test out this theory. One thing at a time, a 3rd date would be a nice change of pace at this point.


Random Movie Quote:

Goodnight you princes of Maine. You kings of New England." - The Cider House Rules

Thursday, February 9, 2006

Mad Money

Ever seen this show on CNBC? It's an hour long show about picking stocks hosted by a guy named Jim Cramer. They play the show like 6 times a day, so you could be flipping channels at 2am and you would have a pretty good chance of running across Mad Money. This show is literally about buying this stock and selling that stock, not something your average American should be doing in my humble opinion.

They definitely named the show correctly, because Jim Cramer is a total mad man. Now don't get me wrong, he knows his stuff and he would probably make you some money if you could sit through his show everyday. That is the part that I can't handle. I can tolerate about 4 minutes of him before I want to gouge my eyes out with a salad fork. He is just a little too excited and cheezy (yes, cheezy with a Z) for me to become a disciple.

As I watch him, I find myself wondering what makes him so over-the-top crazy. Is he just that genuinely excited about stocks and investing? Is he hopped up on crystal meth? Did he just take some Viagra with a Red Bull chaser? I don't have the answer, so you will have to tune in and see crazy Jim for yourself. If you figure it out, let me know. See how many "booyahs" you can stand, my limit is 8.

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

Advertising

It seems to me that advertising these days is getting way out of hand. There is hardly a shred of truth to many of the ads I see on TV on a daily basis.

The one that annoys me the most is the "Tacoma - Meteor Proof" ad in which a Toyota truck is supposedly struck by a meteor (which would actually have burned up in the earth's atmosphere) and comes through without a scratch. Then they flash up "Tacoma - Meteor Proof" on the screen and in tiny little letters on the bottom they tell you this is a dramatization. Uh, yeah, duh. It annoys me that they can get away with even suggesting that their truck is meteor proof. That is total BS. If a meteor hit that truck it would be in sand size fragments scattered for miles and miles. The FCC was on Janet Jackson's boobie like a calf on a teat, so where are they now?

An ad that I actually find offensive - and I am pretty laid back about everything - is an ad for beef jerky. I can't remember the company, so their ad didn't work on me, but they show this helicopter flying low over the Australian bush and all these people running around like wild animals. Then, they start shooting people with tranquilizer guns so they can tag their ears and such. That is some messed up shit right there. How did they let this get on the air? Hello, FCC, stop staring at Janet's nipple, put your pants back on and get back to work.

Another ad that I hate is only on during the holidays, but it is on every year like clockwork. The Lexus ad that asks you to buy your significant other a new car for Christmas. Wait, what - can you repeat that? You want me to what? There is nobody in the world I love more than myself and I wouldn't even buy me a car for Christmas! And people wonder why the U.S. has a zero percent savings rate, hello!

Now if you will please excuse me, I have to get back to "The Champagne of Beers" before it warms up and tastes like feet.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Lisa, Lisa (The One I Adore)

Recognize those lyrics? That is from the rhyme master Pauly Shore but the Lisa I am talking about is Lisa Loeb. She is a stone cold, hottie in my humble opinion. Who else ever made you want to date a librarian?

Poor Lisa is looking for love and the E channel must have thrown some duckets at her because they are taping her search. The result is the show "#1 Single" on E. I happened to catch the premiere episode tonight as I was flipping channels. ( I would watch a show about Lisa buying fruit at the store, so I was hooked right away.)

According to the E-online website this is what she is looking for:

"Seek intelligent city guy (NYC or L.A.) between 30-45. Must be smart, funny, sensitive (not wimpy), adventurous and family oriented. Preferably Jewish. No diets, no fake hair. Healthy and active a plus. Must love cats."

So let's see where I stand:

* Intelligent - yes!
* City guy - well, sorta. I live in the burbs, which some people (Charmaine) think are lame, but I can get by in the city.
* NYC or L.A. - ouch, nope. I think NYC is evil, well mostly just the Yankees, and I have never been to Cali.
* Between 30 and 45 - yes! and I am on the low end of the scale, bonus!
* Smart - well yeah!
* Funny - damn straight, I am a friggin' riot!
* Sensitive (not wimpy) - totally me!
* Adventurous - fo' shizzle!
* Family Orientated - ummm, well, potentially!?!
* Preferably Jewish - nope, I dated a Jewish gal though, does that help?
* No diets - OK, you're the boss Lisa.
* No fake hair - no snickers bars on my head, thank you very much.
* Healthy and active a plus - more bonus points for me!!!
* Must love cats - ouch, I have more of a "tolerate" POV on cats.

Dang it!!! It doesn't look like I am Lisa's soul mate. We'd go out for a while, and then she would figure out that I really don't love cats and then she'd break my heart. Maybe she was talking about the musical?

Monday, November 21, 2005

The Weather Channel

I can watch the Weather Channel for hours on end, especially if there is a hurricane or a blizzard or some other weather event going on. There is something exciting about knowing what the high temperature in Peoria, Illinois is going to be two days before the day after tomorrow. (That's for you Skillz!)

Boy do those people get excited about the weather. They even make their correspondents go outside when "extreme" weather hits to tell us what is going on. "Yup, it's raining and very windy as the hurricane approaches, back to you in the stuuuuuddddiooooo." I am amazed they haven't lost a few people this year with all the damn hurricanes we've had.

There is one guy on there that I worry about though, good old Jim Cantori. He is waaayyy too excited about the weather. Especially the prospect for bad weather. If there's a blizzard forming or a hurricane on the way - he is genuinely excited. He will always give you the worst case scenario - "Lots of people stand to lose power from this storm". It is like he is wishing bad things to happen to people. I think he may actually have a woody as he sits behind his weather desk. Then again, if I was sitting next to Sarah Libby, Jen Carfagno or Hillary Andrews I would too.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Reality TV

I have never been a fan of reality TV, which has made watching network TV rather difficult over the past several years. I am not going to watch people eat bugs or sing off key or make over their homes while their spouse is away. You couldn't PAY me to watch that crap.

But I have become a fan of the CelebReality TV on VH1. It all started last spring when the Surreal Life had Peter Brady - aka Chris Knight - on it. I have been into anything Brady since I was in junior high school. I even have a picture of me and Greg Brady - aka Barry Williams - on my mantle. One of my ex-es is in the pic too, but that doesn't make it any less cool.

So, Peter Brady got me hooked on the Surreal Life, my first venture into the world of reality TV. Then I started watching Hogan Knows Best, since it was on right after The Surreal Life. Now this fall there is My Fair Brady - with Peter, I mean Chris Knight, and his 22 year old model girlfriend, Adrianne Curry. He hasn't been on TV in like 20 years and he is still getting high quality tail - nice! Just marry her dudeman!

That show is followed directly Breaking Bonaduce. Have you seen this show? That guy needs some help, he is one messed up dude. That show is a total train wreck, but I can't turn it off. Actually, I did turn it off once, but I ended up turning it back on after like three minutes, cause I had to see what happened. The good news is, I haven't started tivoing the shows, at least not yet.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!!!