Advertisers are starting to bail on the controversial CBS drama Swingtown.
This is predictable, if a little confusing. What exactly did the advertisers think they were sponsoring? (In the case of Dannon Yogurt, actually no - they just bought rotating advertising on CBS and didn't know when their ads would appear.) When they were told the show was about swapping, did they think it was recipes? And isn't the show on at 10 PM and come with a warning at the beginning? Proctor & Gamble won't advertise on the show at all.
I've seen every episode of the show and I haven't seen anything that is too controversial or shocking. There's no nudity, there's no swearing, the subplots aren't about swapping at all. The show isn't called Orgies Are Awesome, and as far as I can tell the characters aren't just jumping into this lifestyle; they have real moral concerns when it comes to fidelity, loyalty, friendship, and what's right. I have a lot of problems with the show (some of the characterizations are paper thin and the music is really drilled into our heads to give us a sense of what decade the show is set in), but the sex on the show isn't one of them.
On a related note, did you know they still make Tab? Saw some at the supermarket the other day.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-07-2008 @ 3:30PM
CPav said...
I believe Tab is now an energy drink.
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7-07-2008 @ 3:34PM
gumpsturn32 said...
with advertisers bailing the show is a goner, kind of sad i guess we can just replace it with another csi or survivor show. tv is becoming such a wasteland
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7-07-2008 @ 3:52PM
Jeff N. said...
Yes, finding new scripted TV shows in the summertime has been a challenge. All I know is if the actors go on strike they are all fools. Cause scripted TV shows would suffer even more and thus more jobs would be lost.
7-07-2008 @ 3:53PM
Jeff N. said...
It's a good show. Sorta of like Desperate Housewives placed in the turbulent 1970's.
They only imply most of the sex. The last episode really spoke to how much women have changed since that time period.
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7-07-2008 @ 4:05PM
Carissa said...
Well that just sucks, even if it was predicable. Funny that Proctor & Gamble won't advertise on this but sponsor Guiding Light that has everything from rapes to first cousins mating and much much more. Yep - they'd better pull from Swingtown! Assholes.
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7-07-2008 @ 4:14PM
0megapart!cle said...
Swingtown is so unbelievably not risque, compared to the rest of broadcast television! Un-fucking-believable!
7-07-2008 @ 5:33PM
Jimmy said...
If advertisers are bailing, it's because viewers are too.
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7-07-2008 @ 6:21PM
D Colin said...
I find it odd that Proctor & Gamble won't advertise on Swingtown. I mean they produce both As The World Turns and Guilding Light. Now, I've watched (and loved) ATWT for years and they can get racy (for daytime). They have steamy scenes all the time, it's a soap that's what people like. So why drop advertisement for a 9pm (ct) show -- doesn't make sense. I've seen several episodes and have one still one my DVR, it's actually quite a mild show. They talk of swinging, but from what I've seen it's more implied than shown.
I mean I've been quite impressed with Proctor & Gamble for letting the storyline of Luke and Noah progress . We've got to see them kiss this past week and they even celebrated Gay Pride. As of yet they haven't let any of those watch dog groups stop them from sharing this sweet love story. So it baffles me -- but hey maybe they are picking their battles, who knows
just my thoughts
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7-08-2008 @ 12:47AM
Dave said...
Everyday the networks push me to cable.
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7-08-2008 @ 7:36PM
sjacob said...
Take that, CBS. I haven't watched the show and have no intention of watching the show. Having lived through the 70's I (and most of my coworkers) would just as soon for get what happened then.
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7-09-2008 @ 5:56AM
Mike said...
well sjacob sounds like a tool...
But this reminds me how whenever an advertiser would pull out of WWE I would stop buying from them. I still never buy Papa Johns when getting pizza.
Not sure how networks tell views..but they need to let views know who is leaving the show ...advertisers wise. That way viewrs can let companies know...don't support my show...I won't support you.
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7-09-2008 @ 12:24PM
Carole said...
I like this show, I didn't expect to but I have been pleasantly surprised. It's hard to find something on this time of year that isn't a rerun and you can only watch so much Law & Order.
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7-11-2008 @ 10:32AM
40-year-old blog said...
This is one of the better shows on network TV (which isn't much of a stretch given that most of the network shows are the cheaply produced reality/game shows). I'm not into swinging, but the story lines and plot twists are great.
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