Here we go again! Another big television network has managed to use football as a means to offend thousands of television viewers while at the same time rake in free publicity time.
Earlier this week, ABC’s opening segment for the game featured actress Nicolette Sheridan, one the stars of the new ABC show “Desperate Housewives,” in the locker room with Philadelphia Eagles star receiver Terrell Owens. Dressed only in a towel, she tried to persuade Terrell to skip the game to be with her. When he resisted, she dropped her towel and threw her naked self – the camera only showed her back from the waist up – into his arms and she succeedes in her seduction. This was followed by a shot of the other two stars of “Desperate Housewives” commenting on “desperate” actions.
After the spot aired, complaints came pouring in from viewers, and the NFL and ABC released an apology, stating, “We have heard from many of our viewers about last night’s Monday Night Football opening segment and we agree that the placement was inappropriate. We apologize.”
Sure they do. They really are sorry – sorry they didn’t think of this stunt sooner. Do they really expect us to believe that no one at ABC thought about the content of this segment and that it might be complained about? Of course they did, and that’s exactly what they set out to do. Masking itself as a funny little skit for the opening of the game, ABC has managed to pull of one of the most genius, and oldest, tricks in advertising – success by scandal. ABC is receiving numerous hours of publicity and promotion every time this incident is mentioned, whether it is on the news or at the office water cooler.
Think about it. When is the last time you remember an intelligent, well-produced ad making the headlines the next day? Sex sells, and it sells well. ABC did exactly what it set out to do – create a buzz. If you hadn’t heard about the show “Desperate Housewives,” you certainly have by now.
ABC has also managed to make a sound investment during this act. Considering a 30-second ad during the 2003 Monday Night Football season cost over $270,000 to air, and the maximum Federal Communications Commission fine for a indecent violation (with the exception of Ms. Jackson and her well-timed booby trap) is usually $32,000, ABC took a well-calculated risk and made a sound investment. Instead of a hardly seen and quickly forgotten 30 second blip of an ad, ABC has created a living promotional campaign for the show that will keep going and going. And, as the FCC and other government agencies relentlessly seek to punish and fine ABC for this incident, you better believe you will keep hearing about it, over and over.
The truth is, the only reason that we are continually subjected to these “malfunctions” and “inappropriateness” is simply because of the hullabaloo people make of them. The more attention we give to these types of promotions, the more they are going to make. Each time we are shocked, someone is going to try to shock us more. Perhaps if we just ignored them, they would have to find a more creative way to get our attention.
Moni Wood is a continuing education student in English. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].
