Yoo Hoo, David!
On June 19th '97 you wrote to DAWN BIDOT:
 DM> DB> Go ahead and complain, the more people complain, the more they'll
 DM> DB> redo things, even without you having the Disney channel, you'll be
 DM> DB> helping out the ones who do have it, and don't have Inet service..
 DM>
 DM>         Okay, I promise I'll send a short message asking nicely to
 DM> reduce the commerials. But when I'm asked if there's something in detail
 DM> I meant with this, I will also have to admit that I have, in fact, no
 DM> idea whatsoever since I am not able to watch it.
Well, it's kind of a waste of time to complain about a service or the
service's programming practices if you've never seen the service or its
programming practices.  Disney Channel viewers who are paying cable
fees have a more legitmate reason to make their grievances known.  (If you
are joining this thread as a new reader, David is posting to us from
Germany, and the issue at hand is about the US Disney Channel newly
beginning to air "commercial breaks" in its programming.)
 DM> And who knows - I'd
 DM> possibly even like the commercials partily. Since I hear Rich is working
 DM> on them as well - because he & family are Disney =).
Let me clear up this misunderstanding because, as written and within
the context of this thread David's statement is not true but David may
not have meant to type what he did, so let me clarify:
My husband, Rich, does not work on the "commercials" (the Disney Channel
promotional announcements which air during their programming and in
breaks between shows).  My husband Rich and I do _not_ work for the
Walt Disney Company in any way.  We are simply huge fans of Disney, like
many of you are.   What my husband does do for a living is work in a
commercial television station that is affiliated with the FOX TV network
in the US.  The TV station airs what FOX does nationally and in other
times airs syndicated shows and locally produced newscasts and locally
produced TV specials.  Rich does electronic graphics in the production
department.  That means for commercials, station on air promotions and
for TV shows he creates the lettering you read, it's shape, style, color
and placement on the screen in certain places according to how the
advertiser, ad agency or producer want it to be.  Others write it, others
schedule it, others edit it or shoot the video for it.  Rich simply does
the titling or fancy animations that are part of the overall commercial,
station promotion or show according to the plan of others.  Now, in the
course of this work Disney has done cross-promotions with his TV station
and local radio stations that if you watch the TV station, see the
commercial and learn the "secret word of the day" and are the first
to call the radio station when the radio station requests it and tell
them the day's secret word, you could be eligible to win a trip to
Walt Disney World.  For that Rich has done some titling and graphic
art work.  But these cross-promotion (local to us) contests with Disney
only come up every couple of years or so.
I do not want to go "off topic" here.  But even Disney does commercials
in other media.  In the US right now, for instance, not only am I seeing
a lot of commercials by Disney promoting that "Hercules" will be coming
out this week, but their cross-promotion contract pratners such as
McDonalds and Nestle' are promoting their Disney/Hercules products too.
And not just on TV, but in Sunday product coupon inserts, magazines,
soon newspaper ads advertising which theaters will play "Hercules", etc.
The look of packaging in the shores for some of the cross-promotions
will be tied to Disney/"Hercules".  Toys R Us and Hallmark already have
their Disney/"Hercules" things out.  Even the signature contemporary
listening song that Michael Bolton sings from the film "Go the Distance"
is a way to promote the movie on the radio as well as sell "Hercules"
compact discs.  It's _all_ advertising in its way.
So if you don't like advertising and you do like Disney, you are caught
in a bit of a trap here:  How are you going to know when new Disney
things come out unless there is advertising?  ;-)
Advertising, BTW, is a very legitimate business practice and can refer
one to some useful or enjoyable products and services, at which people
exercise their creativity and their education and experience and through
which they earn livings, support families, and shareholders share in the
success of that company and earn dividends and appreciation of their
stock, etc.  Agreed that some advertising is more tasteful and better
placed than others.  But generally there is nothing wrong with that
sort of business in a free-market economy.
When Disney advertises, it does so aggressively and can do so with a
great deal of "Disney spirit", so much so that you hardly know, or care,
that what you've just seen is really a slick sales pitch.  Some
excellent examples of this:  Anything involving Disney video releases --
notice how they give you a glimpse of great elements of story or romance
or comedy of whatever the video is about (such as movies or
direct-to-videos).  For WDW's 25th Anniversary TV spots, they show "then"
and "now" of selected families on an earlier visit to WDW and the same
family now, with nice nostalgic "Do you remember....the magic?" schmaltzy
sounding music that tugs at your emotions and sense of love and pride
in your own family to build upon to persuade you to pick up the phone
and start planning a visit there for _your_ family for _this particular_
year.  And on some shows or cable TV channels you see these commercials
_a lot_.
My favorite series of, for lack of a better word, "anti-Disney" commercials
are being run by Colonial Williamsburg, a town from colonial America's
past that is preseerved as it was to illustrate what life was like at
America's founding and independence.  The spots feature actors in the
roles of George Washington, Patrick Henry and other revered US historic
figures, doing something statesman-like or something for which they are
noted historically.  The announcer says the figure's name and what deed
the figure is doing ("Patrick Henry, you've just declared 'Give me liberty
or give me death!") and then asks the person if now they've done that if
they are planning to go to Disney World.  Then the person steps up to the
camera and declares "Why, no!  I'm going to Colonial Williamsburg!"  Then
you see the signature building at Williamsburg, I forget the name but
it's like a legislature type building, at night, with fireworks going off
behind it very similar in look to night views of Disney theme park castles
with fireworks going off behind them, with the phone number and WWW address
for getting more information about how to travel to Williamsburg.  I think
it's a clever "dig" at Disney-style commercials and how Disney has promoted
itself with winning sports celebrities after major sporting events.  It
also draws the point that there are theme park destinations other than
WDW or DL, or even other than Six Flags.  A lot of competition for that
theme park family vacation dollar makes for a lot of commercials by
both Disney and Disney's competition.
The most obnoxious Disney promotional spots IMHO are found at the head of
Disney home videos.  I don't mind a few promotional things.  But, for
instance, at the head of "Toy Story" I thought we'd never get to see
the movie, the spots kept coming and coming and coming, like the
Energizer bunny!  Sheeeesh!
So that's Disney and commercials and Disney and advertising as a
discussion thread... what do _you_ think? :-)
--- April V1.0+
(1:3828/1.3)
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