Monday, November 29, 2010

What's the Worst That Could Happen?... Take Camera 3... OH! Crap.

What happens when a news station waits and waits for a bridge implosion and finally cuts away for a split second - only to have the bridge collapse?

First - you become an internet sensation. The video made the rounds last week.

Now... the promo.

4 comments:

evil monkey said...

It's funny. It's well done.

But it seems like something I wouldn't want to call attention to by showing it to everyone who didn't happen to be watching.

I realize 'everyone' saw it online, but I think everyone online doesn't always include local viewers.

Dave said...

I agree with the above poster. The viral video doesn't need a proof.

The larger take away from something like this is that the YouTube crowd was most likely laughing at WGN, not laughing with them. For WGN, and I think people in our industry, the humor comes from the murphy's law type of situation and how we can relate.

That said, I think for the YouTubers, they're laughing at a larger perspective of local news with this. They see it as "another irrelevant local TV station hyping up nothing" and getting what they deserve. This video satisfies their worldview that local news is (insert criticism).

I guess what I'm saying is that this isn't a marketable "success" on-air because it likely violates a consistent message strategy.

It probably isn't a marketable "success" online either as the video's success was due to a failure, if that makes sense.

Somewhat similar case in point: President Barack Obama doesn't promote his "viral success" with right wing blogs just because they're constantly talking about him.

Mr30Seconds said...

I disagree with Dave (no offense, Dave). I think the markets are awash out there with crappy, cookie-cutter morning shows that all seem the same, and if I'm going to still end up getting the same information anyway, I want to watch the one that has a sense of humor about itself.

And hopefully, one that will crash and burn many more times.

This is one of the few things that makes TV exciting. The world could care less when live live TV goes flawlessly. It's much better to see our perfectly-coiffed and teleprompter-addicted friends have miserable, embarrassing days.

Not every Hindenberg-worthy moment ends up on YouTube.

You could argue: "well, then you'd watch the show if it was hosted by a stuttering, accident- and seizure-prone chimpanzee who becomes violent when someone uses a sentence that ends in a preposition?"

My answer: I most certainly would like to.

Uh oh.

Huss said...

I gotta agree with Mr30seconds. While many people probably laughing at WGN, this promo allows WGN to take back ownership of that, and turn it into a situation where people are now laughing with them. Additionally, it illustrates beautifully that these folks are human beings just like everyone else. They make mistakes, can laugh about them and take responsibility for them. As a viewer, I'm now going to feel that WGN is no better than me, and that makes them a helluva lot more appealing.