“The View From the Phlipside” is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY. It can be heard Monday through Friday around 7:30 AM. The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program. Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moment’s notice. WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed. You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com. Copyright 2013-18 by Jay Phillippi. All Rights Reserved. You like what you see and hear? Drop me a line and we can talk.
Programs from the week of June 24, 2018
This Week’s Podcast
My name is Jay Phillippi and I’ve spent my life in and around the media. TV, radio, the movies and more. I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion. Call this the View from the Phlipside.
World Cup Ads
Every year, just before the Super Bowl I do a program on the TV commercials that will appear during the game. I’ve noted before that the commercials are all too often more interesting than the game itself. For several decades that sporting event has been something of a championship contest for advertising agencies as well as football players.
So it occurred to me that I should pay particular attention to the ads that surround the biggest sporting event in the world. Of course, the playing field, as it were, is somewhat different. The Super Bowl, no matter how much they try to drag it out, is a one day event. The World Cup stretches over most of a month. So there’s less of a “stunt” feeling to the advertising. But there’s been plenty aimed specifically at the competition and it’s viewers.
I’m not sure we will ever see a commercial with more celebrities in it than the Adidas ad. I’m still not sure I’ve identified them all. I love that it’s focused on creativity. Here’s the problem though – I watched it six times before I realized who it was for. That’s a major failing for any advertising.
On the other hand, the Pepsi commercials are fun, fast-paced and I came away knowing exactly who they were for. If there are celebrities kicking around those blue filled soccer balls I missed that (I’m pretty sure there are) but I know what the product is.
Meanwhile, the Volkswagen ads are just fun. They all start with the concept “Boy, we’re really sorry you guys didn’t make the tournament.” Then they tell us why we should be rooting for one of the European teams (Switzerland, Belgium, Iceland and Germany get the corporate nod. My English and French ancestors are a little miffed). But it’s good fun from a company trying to come back from a major PR disaster.
Speaking of which, there is a whole kerfluffle over American soccer star Landon Donovan coming out for arch-rival Mexico in the Wells-Fargo ad. His former teammates and a fair number of American fans are outraged that he would do such a thing. While I understand the never root for your rivals (would a Bills fan root for the Patriots? Would I root for Baltimore as a Steelers fan?), I think Wells Fargo is getting some excellent mileage out of the whole thing. Interesting to see if it helps them with their PR issues.
I’ll wait to see if anything else jumps out over the next couple weeks.
Commercial Movies
I look ahead to this weekend and I wonder if we are about to see a change in the movie industry. Something rather unusual, but not unheard of, is about to happen. If it becomes a big hit, then I would expect that the folks in Hollywood who are more comfortable doing the same thing over and over will jump on the bandwagon. I’m just not sure it’s such a good idea.
This weekend will debut the movie “Uncle Drew”. If that name means nothing to you, you’re not alone. Uncle Drew is a character from a 2012 Pepsi ad with NBA star Kyrie Irving playing the old man former basketball player. In the movie, Drew gathers together a team of super-annuated hoopsters to play in the legendary Rucker Park basketball tournament.
What fascinates me is that the character doesn’t come to us from literature, or television, or comic books or graphic novels or legend and mythology. Uncle Drew is strictly a creation of commercial advertising. Since that first commercial six years ago, the Uncle Drew character has pulled millions of views online. So Pepsi and Hollywood decided to bring it to the big screen. Irving is back with a cast of many former basketball stars including Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller and Lisa Leslie. It’s directed by Charles Stone III, the man who brought us the “Wassup?” commercials.
All of which begs the question of whether this is a good idea? God knows it doesn’t take much of a concept to make a movie, even a hit movie these days. But this was a stunt ad campaign. Bunch of athletes dressed up like old guys, and now it’s a major motion picture. Is this really where movies are headed? If you tell me that in a couple years I’m going to see a “Dilly-dilly” movie at my local theater, I may never watch the movies ever again.
I mentioned earlier that this was unusual but not unheard of. I’ve come up with two previous examples, which may also give us the high and low points. Jim Varney did manage to make five Ernest movies based on the Ernest P. Worrell character. None of the movies made more than 28 million dollars. At the other end, we find the much beloved but generally overrated “Space Jam”. The Bugs Bunny/Michael Jordan pairing began on a Nike ad, then went on to gross 90 million dollars in the U.S. and over 200 million worldwide.
“Uncle Drew” can only hope to catch some of that basketball magic. The movie debuts June 29.
Placing The Blame
In the course of my rather varied and non-traditional career, I have been blessed with a lot of friends who are younger than I am. Both Generation X and Millennials have blessed me with their wisdom, their innovations and their fresh world views. So it’s time to give back a little. Especially to the much maligned Millennial generation. It has become a fad to blame them for everything bad takes place in the world. This especially amusing when it comes from my own generation cohort, the Baby Boomers. First, because we were the most recent generation to absorb that kinds of criticism. If GenX had an advantage here, it was the fact that the unfair representation of them was that they were slackers and therefore unlikely to do much of anything. Secondly, it proves that the single most horrible fate most Baby Boomers grew up fearing has come true. We’ve grown up to be our parents. And not the cool version, but the grumpy, OLD version.
So for my Millennial friends out there, this one’s for you. The latest statistics in the world of television show that the generation that is destroying traditional television the most right now is…the Baby Boomers.
Turns out that Boomers have been peering over the shoulders of our children and grandchildren and thought “Hey, that looks cool”. The largest increase in cord-cutting, people leaving cable and satellite delivered television are Baby Boomers. Live television viewing by Millennials continues to decline as well but Boomers declined by a full five percent more than the youngsters. And what is luring all these cranky old people away from the medium of their childhood? That would be Netflix. Yes, we are trotting right along behind the younger generation to check out streaming video. And we’re doing it in droves as well. Compared to 2017 Boomer Netflix viewing increased by 13%.
Beyond the satisfaction of my younger friends, this viewing habit change comes with some familiar impacts. Once again, advertisers have to take the Boomer generation into account. OTT services like Netflix have been strongly associated with young viewers. Consequently, advertisers have targeted the commercials on those services to younger viewers. With older viewership climbing quickly, they are having to make adjustments. The same issue is facing folks who track demographics and other audience classifications.
I have no doubt that some of my fellow Boomers will view this as our generation returning to its place in the center of the universe. Which gives my Millennial friends yet another chance to just roll their eyes at their elders.
You see, some things never change.
Call that the View From the Phlipside
Copyright Jay Phillippi, 2018
Theme music for “The View From the Phlipside” and “TVFTP – Podcast” is “Hustle”
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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