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We Need to Catch Advertisers With Honey, Not Vinegar!
By Carolyn Hinsey • Posted: Apr 19, 2011First of all, how great is Hoover? "My wife and mother are both passionate viewers of ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE, as are many of my colleagues here at Hoover," wrote Hoover VP of marketing Brian Kirkendall. "In fact, we will discontinue our advertising with ABC this Friday, 4/22."
So let's declare this Friday "BUY HOOVER DAY." Go to your local store and buy a Hoover vacuum or air purifier or even just vacuum bags for your existing vacuum. Or go on Hoover.com and order something, then post on their Facebook page that you did it.
The important thing to remember when saving our soaps (which we ARE doing) is to keep it POSITIVE. My opinionator Rachel reports that she called ABC advertiser Excedrin (800-468-7746) to say that as a longtime user of their product she would like for them to follow Hoover's lead and support the ABC soaps. "The lady I talked to was so cool," shares Rachel. "She said, 'How could they do that to Erica Kane?!'" But another opinionator Eric told me that when he went to Hershey's page to write nice things about the example that Hoover is setting for their brand and the consumer support they'll receive as a result from ABC soap fans, "there were a lot of posts from people saying they weren't buying Hershey's products anymore unless they pulled their advertisements."
That is the WRONG way to go, people! Hoover honcho Brian Kirkendall got the connection between soaps and their passionate viewers because of his mom and his wife. We need other advertisers to do the same. We don't want the head of Hershey's dismissing us because we're threatening to not buy his product when his company IS ADVERTISING ON OUR SOAPS!
Keep it simple. Focus all your energy on Hoover this week. Spread the word about the bold stand they took against ABC's wrongheaded decision to cancel their soaps. "Like" their Facebook page. Buy their products. Let's move forward positively. See if any other advertisers follow suit. Do NOT threaten to boycott ANY company until September when THE CHEW debuts — if it even does.
I'm thinking up a plan at this very moment while I Hoover my living room rug and watch ALL MY CHlLDREN... How about boycotting all of ABC's coverage of the Royal Wedding next week? That might make ABC realize how much they depend on their Daytime viewers.
In fact, it might even make their plans to cancel AMC and OLTL bite the DUST.
Just a little vacuum humor… Stay positive, fans!
- Carolyn Hinsey's blog
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It is interesting to me that OLTL has such good writing at the moment, and is rising in the ratings, while the micro-managed AMC is so dreadful it's painful to watch. Yet watch I must, if I want to make a difference and if I want to support my shows. I am hopeful that we can raise the level of writing at AMC to the level of OLTL, if we are constant and determined. Both of these shows have been golden, and both can be again.
Carolyn is right. The worst thing we can do is put remarks out there that make us sound like unstable banshees. No one pays attention to those creatures, and that's not what we want. We need to let the sponsors know that we are thoughtful, intelligent consumers, not shrieking maniacs, as satisfying as that might momentarily be. Brian Frons already has no respect for us as viewers, let's not give him a reason to point his pudgy finger at us as though he actually knows what he's talking about. JMO.
Hoover Wind Tunnel? Here I come.
Talk about a bail out... HOOVER looses me and so does ABC.... Throwing my HOOVER out and buying a DYSON.. Returning to cable because ABC programming is NOT good enough for me to watch any more.... Plus I am boycotting all sponsors on ABC....
Clearly, you dont watch the shows every day. OLTL is the best soap on the air, and anyone who references Erica's unabortion is about 4 writing teams behind on AMC. If "embracing change" means accepting n ABC slate of lame talk shows, food shows, and weight loss embarassments that can be found on any cable channel at 3 am, I'll pass.
Kudos to Hoover and all the other advertisers who get the connection between the soaps and their viewers. Soap fans have money and we'll spend it on every advertiser who tries to stop the cancellation madness. Personally, I will fight to the end to keep Viki, Dorian, Bo, Nora, etc. in my living room every day. And anyone who is a real soap fan will do the same.
U have my attention. I know it totally hurts to loose these shows. I've skipped many schools days since 6th grade 1982.
My mother,aunt, uncles and cousins watched PPlace, DShadows, LIAMSThing, LOV, AMC, RHOPE, SBARBARA....and countless others....I GREW UP WATCHNG this art form as well.
My blind grandmother listened to the radio soaps...it's in my family blood.
AMC abortion reference was a point in the rich history of this once great show, when the "credibility" was totally shot...was the point. We can have a pissing match and reference writing staffs, but that's not going to change things.
You're missing the change point. Life happens, evolves, it totally sucks sometimes. I feel like I am saying goodbye to my childhood, feeling safe, and as if the world is no longer good by cancelling these old friends/family members.
That being said, if the quality were still there and scripts better that would be different. These two shows were in decline for years, so I will be standing with tears in my eyes when the time comes to wave goodbye and say thank you for making me care.
As a native San Fransciscan (3 gen) the soaps exposed me to people, society, and experiences that enlightened me as a person and made me think. My hope is that a person, family, or sheltered human being not fortunate to grow up in a big city or be open minded and mixed as my family, friends, and city...
I watch/DVR shows that are on their game, some more than others. OLTL always had a special place in my heart. I will remember it fondly.
These forums are great for letting things out.
ABC could have cut both shows to 30 minutes or rotated each to everotherday, however, if the storytelling and writing did not drastically improve...it was just be a bandaid.
Thanks for listening.
Hope Judith Light comes back to say goodbye.
These shows aren't being cancelled due to shitty writing alone. This was all a certain ABC President's doing- over a year in the making, driving our shows into the ground on purpose to lose ratings and blame it on the writing. It's a money tactic- it's a fact that it costs less to run reality shows and game shows than a scripted show. It's totally ridiculous. Even the cast of AMC had to uproot their lives from NYC to LA and then 4 months later they get told they'll no longer be working there in a few months? And soap mags knew this before they did? Totally uncool. Soap fans won't stand for this, we will fight tooth and nail for our shows to remain on-air. So far so good it's working. We shall see. Long live soaps!
Carolyn,
What Hoover did was great, however, I think it's time to fade to black on these two former powerful storytelling shows.
Did you catch AMC & OLTL today? Both shows were totally embarrassing, laugh out loud poor quality scripts, and just dumb. I love daytime, but AMC lost itself when they wrote Erica's unabortion storyline...I wish the writer's had the guts to do a "Dalllas" and pick a year to restart, the fans would welcome the redo.
The Tess and Nikki scenes today were not fun, interesting, or remotely soap opera wonderful. The outstanding Ms. Slezak looked bored as though she was thinking "not this again" the entire time on sceeen. And making Dorian do what she did to Clint? Come on...challenge us. Stop writing down to us OLTL. Jerry Ver Dorn is worth more than those scenes written for him to play today.
Contrast Y&R, B&B, and Days to OLTL & AMC today. The first three know their voices. I am not a big GH fan, so, I cannot comment too much at the moment. Hoover would be smart to support the 4 remaining soaps.
Y&R makes me WOW often.
B&B keeps my attention.
DAYS is fun and funny.
GH enough with the mob.
OLTL make me frown, dissappointment.
AMC I just pity, was once amazing.
Sorry to read some SOW/SOD staff may lose jobs because of the merger.
4 remaining soaps have an opportunity to embrace history, write for character's on canvas, and learn from AMC/OLTL mistakes.
I will not be watching the ABC shows that replace AMC/OLTL.
Horse vs Buggy. Radio vs TV vs internet. Landline vs Cell
Life will go on, it hurts. But embrace change.
That sounds like a plan, and congrats to Hoover for knowing Soap Fans and how loyal we are to what we love. ABC will learn this, if we work together. I really hope AMC and OLTL are saved.