Fans Want More Gay Kissing!! What Can a PR Person Say to That?? Seriously… What Do You SAY? (03/10/2008)
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Hmmm…. it seems that some un-Godly fans of the P&G sponsored afternoon soap opera “As The World Turns” have started a letter-writing, protest campaign because they want to see more gay kissing, according to a recent article by the Associated Press.
It provides an interesting juxtaposition against today’s absolutely stunning! and shocking! revelation that a GOP Congresswoman hates the gays… she has revealed to the world that “gays” are more evil, and more of a threat to “our children” than Eeeslamist Terrorists.
(Our children?)(We gays don’t have many children.)(Being homo-terrorists bent on destroying their America, we shouldn’t really be allowed any.)(But wait… then why do I have so many God-children?)(I haven’t figured that one out yet.)(No doubt I have brainwashed family and friends into thinking that I am a normal human being.)
But no matter… the real story here is that in the fictional romance between characters “Luke Snyder” and “Noah Mayer” (jeez how queer do they sound?) fans want to see more lip-locks.
While all the straight couples on the show are smooching, ogling, groping, and dry humping their way to the next commercial break, apparently poor Luke and Noah are as chaste as blushing Edwardian virgins.
As a PR Person… What Do You Say to a Reporter?
That’s a tough one. According to the AP story:
The soap is owned, produced and written by Procter & Gamble Productions Inc., a subsidiary of the consumer giant that makes Bounty, Crest, Pampers, Mr. Clean and Ivory soap. CBS executives consult on the series, but the creative direction is set by P&G.
And when asked for comment, P&G spokesperson Jeannie Tharrington gave the following non-comment comment:
“It’s always hard to please a diverse audience,” Tharrington said, “and we have a diverse audience.”
BINGO! Triple-7’s!!! Must be in the front row! It may sound mealy-mouthed on the surface, but sometimes we PR folks are put in the uncomfortable position of having no right answer, and a list of conflicting agendas as long as your arm.
What could she possibly say?
How about… “We’re trying to be modern, but we don’t want to piss off the crotchety old bigot contingent, who like to watch the show while cleaning their guns and knitting swastika quilts.”
Or how about… “We’re a family show; we only added these characters to placate the self-obsessed primping pansy contingent, who clearly aren’t satisfied with mirrors and need to see themselves on TV too.”
Or how about… “We don’t really give a shit who slobbers on whom as long as you clean it up with our paper towels.”
Clearly… none of these really work.
The Lessons of a “Creative Decision”
One of the article’s sources put it in frank terms:
The soap’s producers seem to want it both ways, to get credit for having a gay couple but no backlash from long-term viewers for showing intimacy, said Carolyn Hinsey, editor of Soap Opera Weekly.
Tharrington passed the buck back to the creative teams writing and producing the show, saying that these artistic decisions are fraught with tension and conflict. But isn’t this how the issue is playing out in real life?
What you see on the screen, or don’t see, is a direct result of trying to negotiate all these different priorities and realities. Progress seldom happens in a “straight” line. So there! Often there are steps forward and then back. Corporations have to navigate it as best they can, often imperfectly.
In this case, staying stuck in the 1940s was one creative option. But the world has moved beyond it… thank God. But racing to the head of the line screaming political slogans is not the creative imperative of this commercial endeavor either. So they are stuck in a middle ground, doing exactly what Ms. Tharrington contends… trying to please a diverse audience.
Just the Facts Ma’am
As a PR person, sometimes rather than stating an agenda, or spinning the facts, you have to step back from controversy and let the facts stand on their own.
(Of course a little tap-dancing is always nice if you can work it in, which Ms. Tharrington did by passing the buck to the creative teams: claiming artistic integrity and independence from corporate overlords was a very nice deflection. Deft handling by the PR gal. Truly… no kidding.)
In the end, sometimes there is very little we PR people CAN say.
When you get to the root of this controversy, this TV show is a distillation of real-life issues and it speaks many truths, directly and indirectly, all on its own; and we can see all of those truths simply by taking the measure of what finally does and doesn’t make it to the screen. No additional commentary is required.
So Ms. Tharrington deserves bonus points for making less into more, focusing just on the simplest, plainest truth of this particular controversy… which is also a great meme for us PR folks to meditate on:
“It’s always hard to please a diverse audience,” Tharrington said, “and we have a diverse audience.”