12 posts tagged “television”

April 1957

I've already written about the pioneering television work of comedian Ernie Kovacs. Below are two commercials he created for Dutch Masters cigars as part of his network show.
    Keep in mind, these commercials are live. Everything, including the interesting camera angles (can you see how they did the shot between the cowboy's legs?), the fun special effects, even the on-screen graphics, were done in front of a live studio and national television audience. I mention the studio audience because Kovacs was forced to have one by the network. While other shows in the fifties were performed primarily for the studio audience (assuming the home audience and the studio audience were the same), Kovacs pushed the medium. His show was meant to be viewed through a television set. Many of his unusual effects and pioneering skits would have made no sense to the studio audience. He hated having a studio audience. Kovacs even went so far as to print "ADMIT ONE PASSING STRANGER" on his studio audience tickets.
    In an era where TiVo and DVR and other technologies allow us to easily skip through the commercials, networks and advertisers can learn something from this early pioneer. Be relevant (Kovacs loved cigars and his audience knew it). Be interesting (Kovacs put the same desire for groundbreaking work into his ads as he did the rest of the show). Be entertaining (the products played a role, but the main purpose of the skit was always to entertain). Be transparent (Kovacs wasn't hiding the fact that his skits were ads).
    Can't a show like Saturday Night Live do this today?

Leave it to Beaver

5 comments

Dave, over at Shorpy (which I love and wrote about here), offers this fun little gem. He was watching a 1958 episode of Leave it to Beaver last night and took a screen capture of the above scene. He then transcribed the letter. Enjoy.

Mr. Ward Cleaver
485 Mapleton Drive
Mayfield, State

My Dear Mr. Cleaver:

This paragraph has absolutely nothing to do with anything.
It is here merely to fill up space. Still, it is words,
rather than repeated letters, since the latter might not
give the proper appearance, namely, that of an actual note.

For that matter, all of this is nonsense, and the only
part of this that is to be read is the last paragraph,
which part is the inspired creation of the producers of
this very fine series.

Another paragraph of stuff. Now is the time for all good
men to come to the aid of their party. The quick brown
fox jumped over the lazy dog. My typing is lousy, but the
typewriter isn’t so hot either. After all, why should I
take the blame for these mechanical imperfections, with
which all of us must contend. Lew Burdette just hit a
home run and Milwaukee leads seven to one in the series.
This is the last line of the filler material of the note.
No, my mistake, that was only the next to last. This is last.

I hope you can find a suitable explanation for Theodore’s
unusual conduct.

Yours truly,
Cornelia Rayburn

Katie Couric

I absolutely knew Katie Couric would fail as anchor of CBS Evening News. Not because she is a woman. Not because she is incompetent. But because of two brands.
    Here's what I mean.
    Couric was (is?) an extremely popular television superstar. She was beloved by millions of viewers as co-host of the popular Today show. Ratings for NBC were great with her in front of the camera.
    The Katie Couric brand is well-known to anyone who even casually watched her show. Perky. Smiley. Energetic. Funny. Likable. And yes, while she could get serious now and again for the occasional interview, the Katie Couric brand was really about bubbly effervescence. She was the likable neighbor next door. She excelled at the morning show format in a way few others have or perhaps will.
    But the the CBS evening news is not a morning show.
    Like the Katie Couric brand, the CBS News brand is equally well-known to anyone who has watched television. This is a proud, hard-core broadcast news network. Despite some well-publicized hits at the end of Dan Rather's reign, CBS has always been a true bastion of solid reporting and professional journalism.
    But Katie Couric is not a journalist.
    Quite simply, Katie Couric fans have no interest in seeing a serious and stiff Katie Couric every night. And CBS News fans want to see a crusty old journalist reading the news, not a celebrity.
    Predictably, ratings for CBS Evening News with Katie Couric have been below awful.
    Stretching and evolving a brand is one thing. Assuming anyone will care or follow along is entirely another. Step out of your brand at your own risk.
    CBS executives should have know better.

Dear Coreys

Exciting news from the MSN website...

OK, TV fans -- here's your chance to ask '80s teen heartthrobs Corey Haim and Corey Feldman anything! They return to the tube this summer with a new reality series on A&E, but they will also be guest columnists on MSN, and you can ask them anything. Seriously. Got a question about your relationship? Ask them. Need advice on breaking into the acting biz? Ask away. Want to know what it was like to work with Kiefer Sutherland? Ask them, already! The best questions will be featured in the column and answered personally by each Corey. So, go ahead, Corey-maniacs, ask away: askcorey@microsoft.com

Here are some questions I would like to ask...

So this is how long it takes to run through a boatload of money, huh?

Why are you answering these questions yourselves when most Hollywood celebrities just have their assistants handle stuff like this? Nevermind, I answered my own question.

You guys wouldn't happen to know where Corey Hart is nowadays would you?

Kiefer Sutherland has been so successful and busy since you guys worked together back in 1986. I don't have a question, I just thought I'd point that out.

I need some advice about breaking into the acting biz. Do you know how I can get in touch with Kiefer Sutherland?

C'mon folks. Any questions you'd like to ask?

Kovacs

That's how New York Times columnist Jack Gould explained the wacky, twisted, and sometimes psychedelic world of Ernie Kovacs. A true pioneer, Kovacs saw television as a technology to be exploited for laughs. While other comedians simply took their old vaudeville sketches into the studio, Kovacs explored the vast possibilities of this new medium. He created elaborate sets for gags that lasted but a few seconds. He tilted backgrounds and cameras to create gravity defying visuals. Books sang, water flew upwards, and visuals and sounds were combined like never before (he even won an Emmy for a full show with no dialogue whatsoever). In Kovacs' world, there were no rules. Take the above clip, for instance. Three minutes of show-closing credits. The boring made visually interesting. And many of those fun techniques (live television, by the way) still feel fresh today. Sadly, Kovacs died in a car crash 45 years ago. If you're a creative professional (or aspire to be one), do yourself a favor and check out this original, creative master. And learn from his inventive, carefree methods. Sometimes the fun is in trying.

This classic commercial is really a valuable life lesson. When faced with obstacles in life, you have to choose the right response. And lightning bolt is almost always the right response.