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Oh, the Outrage!
By Michael Alan Hamlin
November 22, 2004
If conservative values are back
in vogue, why is it that American networks seem to be resorting
to sex with increasing frequency to draw large numbers of viewers?
Last February, Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's
outfit to expose her right breast to 90 million Super Bowl fans.
The obviously planned event caused a howl of protests from parents
whose children were watching the primetime show, prominent conservatives,
and government officials.
Despite the protests, Monday Night
Football opened last week with another revealing act. This time,
in a spoof of the popular new show Desperate Wives, actress Nicolette
Sheridan - one of five female stars on the show - appeared clothed
in nothing but a towel in the Philadelphia Eagles' locker room as
the broadcast began. Sheridan seductively asked Eagles star Terrell
Owens if he wouldn't rather spend his time with her than a football,
dropped the towel, and jumped into his arms. Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) chairman Michael Powel expressed his disappointment
with ABC, and the network quickly apologized.
National networks aren't the only
broadcasters leveraging the opportunity to provoke a little moral
outrage, however. Cleveland, Ohio news anchor Sharon Reed stripped
for a feature on artist Spencer Tunick's latest mass nude art event.
Tunick has made a name for himself taking photographs of hundreds
of nude volunteers standing and lying around in public places. In
the Cleveland event, volunteers were asked to do both in the middle
of a road. Reed reported the event, and participated as well, appearing
at a distance completely disrobed and in closer shots seminude.
Again, there were inevitable complaints.
The Cleveland station, however, didn't crumple like the national
networks and apologize. Instead the station's news director, Steve
Doerr, and Reed appeared on national television to justify the report,
Reed's participation as a volunteer rather than a third-party observer,
and her willingness to appear nude in a news broadcast - while reporting.
These three incidents say a couple
of things about public outrage, real or imagined. First, scandal
is a great attention grabber. Entertainers, politicians, and other
celebrities have always known this. There is no such thing as bad
news. It is no news that is feared. Of course, there are exceptions
to this rule. But generally, it's true. That's why, despite threats
of boycotts and FCC fines, broadcasters continue to look for opportunities
to leverage sex, especially during ratings season.
Consider the best thing that ever
happened to D.H. Lawrence: the banning - and burning - of his books
(Lady Chatterly's Lover, Sons and Lovers) by church and government
officials. Larry Flynt used to tip off police when his soft porn
magazines went on sale. News reports of their confiscation provided
much more media coverage than he could have bought through traditional
advertising and promotions. More importantly, the reports - in perhaps
a perverse way - legitimized Flynt by making him a bona fide news
story. As one well-respected senior executive once told me, "You
haven't arrived until you've been attacked."
Which brings us to the second thing
about these recent "skin attacks." And that is that they
are well worth the risks. For example, like Flynt, Jackson received
an incredible level of media exposure for what was a tired personal
brand. She's leveraged and extended that exposure by appearing in
billboards, ads, and elsewhere in a similar, nearly exposed pose.
CBS, which broadcast the Super Bowl and the half-time show in which
Timberlake, Jackson and her breast appeared, was fined $500,000,
which it is protesting. The protest, however, is symbolic. A single,
30-second Super Bowl commercial cost advertisers $2.25 million.
Monday Night Football's objective
was similar to that of Jackson. In recent years, the broadcast has
seen its audience shrink, and nothing tried so far has managed to
reverse the trend. The publicity associated with the Desperate Wives
spoof as well as the prospect of future attractions - perhaps toned
down further to avoid having to make another apology - increased
the value of the broadcast's airtime.
As for Reed and her Cleveland station,
WOIO, the returns on nudity have been substantial. According to
Broadcasting & Cable, the 11:00 pm broadcast earned a 17.1 share,
compared to 13.6 immediately after the Super Bowl in February. Doerr
was straight forward about the station's motive, saying the broadcast
was meant to bring in a high rating during the November sweeps,
which measure viewership and provide the basis for future advertising
rates. And Reed, of course, has shot to national prominence.
Oh, the outrage!
(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing director
of consultancy TeamAsia and the author of three books on Asian economies
and companies. His latest book is Marketing Asian Places,
of which he is a co-author (Wiley, 2001), and he is currently
at work on High Visibility: The Making and Marketing of Asian
Professionals into Celebrities. Write him at mahamlin@teamasia.com.).
Copyright © 2004 Michael Alan Hamlin. All Rights
Reserved.
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