More TV for the rest of us!

[twaddler (imported)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_HqPfFdKSQ

^-- Charter Cable's 'TV Is Amazing' commercial.

Do you love TV enough to take a stand for it? (http://www.examiner.com/tv-in-st-louis/ ... nder=print)

That’s an underlying question in a new commercial campaign by St. Louis-based Charter Communications.

“I think it’s time for people to stop apologizing for loving TV,” one boy says in the ad.

The spot goes on to invoke the history and evolution of the medium, from rabbit ears to the present day.

“TV was the one perfect thing that just kept getting better,” an older man says.

“It’s why every generation’s ‘where were you when’ is really, ‘where were you watching?’” a woman adds.

The extended TV spot also touches on viewers’ emotional connections to programming, as one woman observes, “It’s why you can feel closer to someone after 50 minutes than someone you’ve known for 20 years.”

If you haven't seen the ad, you can watch it by clicking on the video to the left of this article.

Then share your thoughts about TV, Charter, and this commercial in the comments below this article.

Charter, which provides cable TV, Internet, and other services to over 4.7 million customers in 25 states, has had its share of financial hiccups in recent years. During this time, their advertising has typically been compelling, engaging, and creative.

Spots in the “TV is Amazing” campaign are currently airing on television and radio. What’s interesting here is that the focus of the message is on the content rather than Charter’s specific services.

In the late 1990s, ABC tried to take a similar tack in its promotions, saying “TV is Good.” This incited a strong backlash from TV-haters, who decried the network’s programming and accused them of attempting to turn viewers into zombies.

The network retreated and quietly morphed the yellow-and-white graphics to say instead “We love TV.”

There’s no denying TV’s impact on our culture, and especially when you consider how far the medium has come creatively over the last decade, this message might go down easier this time.

But the medium is also at a crossroads, as Internet viewing and digital distribution are fragmenting audiences. The ad has that angle covered too, because Charter TV customers probably also get Internet access from the same company.

I can’t help being drawn in by these commercials. Chalk it up to the power of television, concentrated in a love letter to itself.

“This stuff is just amazing,” the old man concludes.

Indubitably.

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^-- the guy who wrote that obviously has nothing but grape Kool-aid inside his braincase.

I can't be the only one who finds this advertisement incredibly creepy. This message is depressing rather than empowering. You see that kid staring at a TV while addressing audience: he looks like a mindless drone! Surely the Energizer Bunny should scroll across the screen at some point -- this cannot be serious.

[Paolo]

Sorry, I don't even watch TV.