“NOT a kids show.” That’s how an Amazon.com review of Veronica Mars started off. This isn’t another plug for Veronica Mars (those haven’t gone so well for me in the past), so do read on.
American Eagle is the sponsor of Tuesday evening programming on the CW network, and they use their time to run ads for their new Aerie line of products.
Part of the promotion are short (not short enough) segments with 5 high school girls sitting in a circle discussing Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars, CW’s Tuesday night lineup. One night when I was talking to my dad on the phone (poor dad, I think my mom makes him watch Gilmore Girls), he asked me about the Aerie girls. “I just hate the way they talk – it makes them sound so stupid.” Now that I’m paying attention, I have to agree with him – they’re either making very pedantic comments, or else you can’t hear what they’re saying because the editing implies that they’re all spacing out – daydreaming about the male characters of the shows.
My parents and I aren’t the only ones who feel this way: A local CW affiliate got nothing but bad feedback about the segments. An Internet search for Aerie Tuesdays will show as much (”aerie tuesdays idiotic” gets some interesting results as well :)).
On the one hand, I think it’s a marketing catastrophe. The Amazon reviewer made the point, but it applies to both Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls – I think post-high-school folks comprise at least a fair chunk of CW’s Tuesday night viewership. Why are these girls put on TV to talk about these shows? I’m not sure they even understand fully what the shows are about.
But a bigger complaint that I have is the message these spots are sending to their target audience (the female high schoolers). I think having two shows with strong, female leading characters is important (incidentally, a cause that Geena Davis champions; too bad the best show on Tuesday nights got cut). It’s probably not my place to comment – but surely there are other, more positive role models that can relate to high school aged females that don’t sound quite so… stupid.
I haven’t seen these commercials you’re talking about, but my guess is you’re right on the money. That is why God invented the fast forward button on your DVR.
Vince once told me that the people who make commercials are mostly people who failed out of film school or something like that because they had the dumbest ideas. I can’t imagine what the people who make Taco Bell commercials failed out of.
Are you kidding? Every Taco Bell commercial leaves me craving something spicy, crunchy, melty, and/or grilled. That reminds me, I should go to Taco Bell today.
I normally do fast forward through them, but I have this awful habit of watching Veronica Mars first thing on Tuesday nights because I can’t wait another hour until its recorded. It gives me something to look forward to on Tuesday nights.
Watch out for E-Coli.