Subject: Newsday feature: Advertisers opt out of 'Out There'
From: [email-masked] Sun Dec 19 20:16:32 1993

A Newsday feature which appeared in the Philadelphia 
Inquirer today discusses what a hot potato advertisers
pick up when they sponsor glob programming. 

Here are some excerpts, followed by a comment or two. Left-margin
calls for attention are mine, and not in the original article.

GAY SHOW 'Out There', ADVERTISERS OUTTA THERE
by Harry Berkowitz  (Newsday)

        Just how daring are big advertisers in the 1990s when it comes
    to controversial TV shows? 
        The Comedy Central network is about to find out when it runs 
    a gay-lesbian comedy special on Dec. 3 called _Out There_ that 
    will feature stand-up comics, a folk singer, and skits.
        So far, the only sponsor to sign up specifically for the one-hour
    show is Out, a gay-lesbian-oriented magazine, which says its spots 
*   will be the first overtly gay-lesbian-oriented commercials ever run 
    on commercial television. "It's not early but it's not too late" to
    get other sponsors, said Tony Fox, a spokesman for the network.
        Fox said that advertisers usually buy time on Comedy Central for 
    certain parts of the day, not for certain shows.  The ads appear in
    a regular rotation unless an advertiser asks that they not be shown
*   during a specific program, Fox said, adding that about 10 advertisers
    had asked out of _Out There_.  The network would not say which 
    advertisers those are. 
        Companies that advertise in the rotation include such giants as
    Pepsi, Budweiser, American Express and AT & T.
        Television, especially cable, has become much more likely to 
    take risks on the content of shows than it was when the series _Soap_
    - which included a homosexual character - was boycotted by advertisers
    in 1977.  But ad agency executives say few if any advertisers are 
    likely to sign up for _Out There_, hosted by comedian Lea DeLaria. 
*       "I can't imagine any advertisers that would want to sponsor 
    this type of show," said Sharon Magee, cable television manager for
    Advanswers Media Programming in St. Louis, a division of ad agency 
    Wells Rich Greene that buys time for advertisers including Ralston-
    Purina and Heath candy bars.  "They would just be asking for problems."
        She said that althought most big advertisers have little choice 
    but to be on some shows that are at least slightly risque, many 
    companies dread getting complaint letters and phone calls. Letter-writing
    campaigns and consumer boycotts have been organized by groups such as the
    Rev. Donald Wildmon'sAmerican Family Association in Tupelo, Miss.,
    against shows including _Beavis and Butt-head_ on MTV and _NYPD Blue_
    on ABC.

             [....crap about NYPD BLUE, B & B  deleted...]

        As for _Out There_, advertising executives point out that
    an increasing number of big advertisers appear in gay-lesbian-oriented
    publications. Out magazine carries Apple Computer and Philips Electronics 
    ads, and the Advocate carries Evian and Miller Lite. The executives 
    add, however, that advertisers would be much less likely to appear
    ona gay-oriented TV show.

- --end of article-------

My comments: 
  
   I'll be definitely taping this baby, with no use of the pause button. 
It should be highly interesting to see just which advertisers do show up.

   My next post will be from the Comedy Central Newsletter, the 'Funny
Pages'.  In it, an article provides details about guest appearances 
(Melissa Etheridge, Bea Arthur) and details on *all* show times for this
very special program. It is on more than just this Friday.

   I hope, after all this hype, that it's actually *funny*. 
      
+-- Sylvia --------------------------------------- [email-masked] --+
     "Watch this space for details on guest appearances and additional 
                     showings of 'Out There'"