Posted on 02/04/2003 6:59:24 PM PST by foreverfree
TV networks, advertisers pull some quick switches after shuttle accident
David Bauder, AP Television Writer February 04, 2003
NEW YORK -- Television networks and advertisers quickly yanked material from the air to avoid appearing insensitive after Saturday’s disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia.
They included a commercial for the Hewlett-Packard Co. bragging about its ability to get astronauts home safely, and a 1998 Bruce Willis movie that depicts a space shuttle being destroyed by an asteroid.
The HP ad depicts astronauts dressed for flight, and included the line, "HP computers and servers help NASA in making sure our astronauts come home safely."
The computer company tried to get all of the ads pulled from the air immediately after the accident, but one was missed and ran inadvertently Sunday during CNN’s coverage of the accident, said Rebeca Robboy, HP spokeswoman, on Monday.
The FX cable network took its Saturday night airing of Willis’ movie "Armageddon" off the schedule. It was replaced by another movie, "Aliens."
"In light of the tragedy, we felt it would be inappropriate to run the movie," FX spokesman John Solberg said.
An Albany, N.Y.-area Fox affiliate received complaints from viewers on Saturday when it aired a rerun of "The Simpsons." One scene of the cartoon included Bart Simpson building a rocket and firing it, and it falls to the ground, burning down a church.
WXXA-TV pulled the episode in mid-stream and replaced it with another rerun of "The Simpsons," said Jeff Whitson, the station’s general manager.
"It wasn’t as if we got hundreds (of complaint calls), but it was enough for us to pay attention to the episode," Whitson said. "We had no way of knowing. The episode title (‘Lisa of Little Faith’) didn’t give us any indication."
Meanwhile, the Hardee’s restaurant chain picked the wrong weekend to launch a new campaign for its "Big Chicken" sandwich.
The company’s ad showed a NASA rocket taking off, with a voiceover saying, "We know that the astronauts were not chicken. Stop by Hardee’s and get your `Big Chicken’ sandwich."
Hardee’s tried to have the ad pulled from the select Midwest and Southeast markets where it was going to run over the weekend, but failed at some stations and the ad ran, said Larry Brayman, company spokesman.
©The Mercury 2003
foreverfree
As for THE SIMPSONS, I can think of two other episodes that probably won't air for a few weeks. The one where Homer becomes an astronaut and flies on the shuttle and the one with the comet that is going to land on Springfield.
all outpourings of grief for the astronauts' families aside, are TV, radio and Mad Av overreacting by these moves?
foreverfree
I agree. The Armageddon shuttles and that asteroid are total fantasy and most people wouldn't be put off by it. Besides, it's an affirmation of why the astronauts were risking their lives and why they're heroes.
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