Author Topic: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson  (Read 5572 times)

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Offline Lipstick on a Hillary

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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/26/pruden-youve-got-to-know-the-territory/

The uproar over “Duck Dynasty” should be studied forever in the business schools as a priceless teaching exercise in marketing quackery. Television executives are so highly paid because they’re supposed to be so smart. Rarely have so many smart guys been so out to lunch.

The noisy row over the A&E cable network suspending Phil Robertson, the head duck, was mostly not about free speech — the network had a right to suspend him, depending on what was in the contract — but about how low the network wanted to kowtow to the lavender lobby, disrespect for religious belief, and whether it wanted to put at risk its No. 1 show. This is where the A&E suits made their incredible miscalculation, based on gross ignorance of who and what they were dealing with. An office boy would have known better.

“A&E,” says Lisa de Moraes, the influential television critic for the Deadline/Hollywood website, “has been dazedly dog-paddling since the interview [in GQ magazine] and its hit show suddenly stopped quacking like all those other homespun reality series on TV and began Bible-thumping like the religious parable [the controversy] actually is.”

The network was asking for trouble because no one at the office knows anything about Christians, evangelical and otherwise, or the people they thought they were doing business with. The network was accustomed to dealing with people willing if not eager to slice a little off this point of view, cut a little off principle there, keep quiet about this belief and surrender a little bit of control there, take the money and run to the bank with it. The executives at A&E had never run across anyone like Phil Robertson or his family, the personification of the people Hank Williams Jr. sang about in his country classic “A Country Boy Can Survive.”

“You can’t stomp us out, and you can’t make us run/’Cause we’re them good ol’ boys raised on the gun/We say grace, and we say ma’am/And if you ain’t into that, we don’t give a damn.”

“Duck Dynasty” and the hunting constituency that made the Robertsons rich — $400 million and counting — were in fact a people apart, if the network had wanted to find out who they were. They’re largely Scots-Irish, that oft-overlooked segment of the American ethnic mix who arrived early and challenged the progeny of the English aristocrats, the proper Bostonians and the Virginia cavaliers, to cast the prevailing American character.

The Scots-Irish, more Scots than Irish and who took their name from their exile in Ireland, were exiled again to America and brought their populist instincts and fierce Calvinism with them. Jim Webb, the decorated Marine hero, novelist and former U.S. senator from Virginia, describes well his own ancestors and the prevailing culture in northern Louisiana and the South in his book “Born Fighting.”

“These are intensely religious people,” writes Mr. Webb. “Indeed they comprise the very heart of the Christian evangelical movement — and yet they are unapologetically and even devilishly hedonistic. They are probably the most anti-authoritarian culture in America, conditioned from birth to resist any pressure from above, and yet they are known as the most intensely patriotic segment of the country as well. They are naturally rebellious, often impossible to control, and yet their strong military tradition produces generation after generation of perhaps the finest soldiers the world has ever seen. They are filled with wanderlust and are ethnically assimilative, but their love of their own heritage can move them to tears when they hear the bagpipes play, and no matter how far they roam, their passion for family travels with them.”

The executives at A&E could have known this if they were at least as interested in their talent as in the simpering drivel of the professional whiners of GLAAD, GBLTQ and other pressure groups. Now A&E is said to be looking for a way to climb down from the gay hobby horse. Phil Robertson and his duck family are not likely to give an inch because, by their lights, they cannot. Threats of suspension or firing, empty though the threats no doubt are, invite only an ever more stubborn defense of the way they are and what they believe. Threats and intimidation do not move them.

This could be the ultimate teaching moment for the business professors. Marketing has its limits, particularly when the marketing men are dumb and clueless. A country storekeeper, who can’t imagine going to college to learn how to sell tea, turnips or long-handled underwear, could teach them the first and fundamental rule of selling: “You’ve got to know the territory.”



Offline Rapunzel

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2013, 04:39:10 pm »
Excellent article.
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

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Offline Luis Gonzalez

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2013, 05:06:23 pm »
In other words.

Phil Robertson, a man of unyielding conservative moral ideals, has chosen to continue amassing wealth from a relationship with a liberal, secular network, while A&E, a secular liberal network, has opted to ignore the complaints of its liberal clientele in order to continue making money from Phil's show.

You have to love the free market.
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Oceander

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2013, 07:00:25 pm »
It's not out of the realm of possibility that this was a mutually agreed upon, staged, wag-the-dog event.  After all, it garnered substantially more interest in the show than before and will most likely run up the ratings, and therefore the advertising rates, for the show.  It's a win-win for A&E, Gurney Productions, and Mr. Robertson.  No doubt he'll have a book coming out shortly that will leverage off of this bit of theater.

Offline musiclady

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2013, 07:24:30 pm »
It's not out of the realm of possibility that this was a mutually agreed upon, staged, wag-the-dog event.  After all, it garnered substantially more interest in the show than before and will most likely run up the ratings, and therefore the advertising rates, for the show.  It's a win-win for A&E, Gurney Productions, and Mr. Robertson.  No doubt he'll have a book coming out shortly that will leverage off of this bit of theater.

That presumes a lack of authenticity on the part of the Robertsons, and from every thing I've read and seen, it's highly unlikely that they are that disingenuous.

I believe it's just what it seemed to be.  Phil went on GQ, they asked a loaded question which he answered with crude honesty, the pressure from GLAAD bullies ensued, A&E buckled, and then re-buckled when they realized they would be losing a load of cash for no good reason.

Had A&E just stated that they didn't agree with Phil, but that he had the right to believe what he wanted from the get-go, this so-called kerfuffle would never have happened.

I do think that A&E will benefit from restoring DD, as will the Robertsons.

But there is no way that a devout Christian would have staged this to fleece his audience.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

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Offline Rapunzel

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2013, 08:16:54 pm »
Their average ratings were 14 million viewers with a high of 17 million, highest ratings of any television program on cable TV.   They already had controversy (if you want to call it that) over praying at the end of the show - A&E insisted they stop and they said no - and A&E adding in bleeps where there was nothing foul to bleep.  Nope this was a case of A&E acting without thinking about the audience of the program - which is not the Lesbian and Gay community.
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline musiclady

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2013, 09:20:39 pm »
Their average ratings were 14 million viewers with a high of 17 million, highest ratings of any television program on cable TV.   They already had controversy (if you want to call it that) over praying at the end of the show - A&E insisted they stop and they said no - and A&E adding in bleeps where there was nothing foul to bleep.  Nope this was a case of A&E acting without thinking about the audience of the program - which is not the Lesbian and Gay community.

Yep.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

ChemicalEngineer

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #8 on: December 29, 2013, 05:37:00 pm »
In other words.

Phil Robertson, a man of unyielding conservative moral ideals, has chosen to continue amassing wealth from a relationship with a liberal, secular network, while A&E, a secular liberal network, has opted to ignore the complaints of its liberal clientele in order to continue making money from Phil's show.

You have to love the free market.

Perhaps you prefer socialism?  How has that worked throughout the world, in the socialist cesspools of Africa? Communism is simply the most extreme form of socialism, practiced in North Korea. 

And YOU called ME a "moron."  Pretty funny, Louie, Louie.

Oceander

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #9 on: December 29, 2013, 06:29:34 pm »
Perhaps you prefer socialism?  How has that worked throughout the world, in the socialist cesspools of Africa? Communism is simply the most extreme form of socialism, practiced in North Korea. 

And YOU called ME a "moron."  Pretty funny, Louie, Louie.

Uhh, it may not be entirely clear, but Luis is, in fact, celebrating the benefits and machinations of the free market, not denigrating them.  There was, perhaps, a little sarcasm in the post because Luis is not as convinced of the purity of Mr. Robertson's motivations as some others are.

Offline sinkspur

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #10 on: December 29, 2013, 06:53:15 pm »
That presumes a lack of authenticity on the part of the Robertsons, and from every thing I've read and seen, it's highly unlikely that they are that disingenuous.

I believe it's just what it seemed to be.  Phil went on GQ, they asked a loaded question which he answered with crude honesty, the pressure from GLAAD bullies ensued, A&E buckled, and then re-buckled when they realized they would be losing a load of cash for no good reason.

Had A&E just stated that they didn't agree with Phil, but that he had the right to believe what he wanted from the get-go, this so-called kerfuffle would never have happened.

I do think that A&E will benefit from restoring DD, as will the Robertsons.

But there is no way that a devout Christian would have staged this to fleece his audience.

Depends on what you mean by "fleece." 

Phil didn't lie about his beliefs.  Is he above staging a little controversy to boost ratings and DD product sales during the prime buying season?  Who knows?

However it happened, it was a brilliant marketing move.  DD didn't lose any of its audience and probably increased interest in the show, driving up ad rates and market share.
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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #11 on: December 29, 2013, 06:57:20 pm »
Depends on what you mean by "fleece." 

Phil didn't lie about his beliefs.  Is he above staging a little controversy to boost ratings and DD product sales during the prime buying season?  Who knows?

However it happened, it was a brilliant marketing move.  DD didn't lose any of its audience and probably increased interest in the show, driving up ad rates and market share.

Precisely.

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #12 on: December 29, 2013, 07:08:10 pm »
But there is no way that a devout Christian would have staged this to fleece his audience.
Not to fleece them, unless paying the cable bill is fleecing. More like serve their audience.

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Offline musiclady

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #13 on: December 29, 2013, 07:12:15 pm »
Depends on what you mean by "fleece." 

Phil didn't lie about his beliefs.  Is he above staging a little controversy to boost ratings and DD product sales during the prime buying season?  Who knows?

However it happened, it was a brilliant marketing move.  DD didn't lose any of its audience and probably increased interest in the show, driving up ad rates and market share.

Phil's staging the controversy in cahoots with A&E seems a bit far fetched, but I suppose anything is possible, given enough cynicism.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline musiclady

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #14 on: December 29, 2013, 07:15:12 pm »
Not to fleece them, unless paying the cable bill is fleecing. More like serve their audience.

I doubt that most of their audience would have even known about the GQ interview had A&E not buckled under the bullying techniques of GLAAD and fired Phil.

I think it's extremely unlikely that this was a wag the dog thing with both the Robertsons and A&E working together to boost ratings.

But I suppose black helicopters and conspiracy theories are all the rage these days, so why not indulge in a little fantasy, eh?
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Oceander

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #15 on: December 29, 2013, 07:16:51 pm »
I doubt that most of their audience would have even known about the GQ interview had A&E not buckled under the bullying techniques of GLAAD and fired Phil.

I think it's extremely unlikely that this was a wag the dog thing with both the Robertsons and A&E working together to boost ratings.

But I suppose black helicopters and conspiracy theories are all the rage these days, so why not indulge in a little fantasy, eh?

You don't need black helicopters, you simply need to know that GLAAD is a bunch of ravening dogs who respond in classic pavlovian fashion to everything that's similar to what Robertson said.  All it took was an educated bet on what GLAAD would do, nothing more.

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #16 on: December 29, 2013, 07:24:24 pm »
A&E quickly came to their senses, based on "enlightened self interest."

Or perhaps this was an expression of the "invisible hand."

Maybe we are at a point in history for the end of "community organizers" and special interest advocates to get their way, since ultimately they don't have much economic clout.

With black yutes rampaging, assaulting, murdering, there is and should be no sympathy left.

Gays already have their marriages, military service, Boy Scouts, so what's left? That doesn't mean everybody has to like all of it, or be silent.

For A&E it was not a moral question, but instead a purely economic question.
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Offline musiclady

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #17 on: December 29, 2013, 09:03:04 pm »
You don't need black helicopters, you simply need to know that GLAAD is a bunch of ravening dogs who respond in classic pavlovian fashion to everything that's similar to what Robertson said.  All it took was an educated bet on what GLAAD would do, nothing more.

The comments I've read here have implied that Phil Robertson was in on some kind of conspiracy with A&E to make them all more money.

I'm sorry, but I find that ridiculous.

Anyone suggesting a 'wag the dog' scenario is indulging in some sort of conspiratorial fantasy.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline EC

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #18 on: December 29, 2013, 09:13:53 pm »
The comments I've read here have implied that Phil Robertson was in on some kind of conspiracy with A&E to make them all more money.

I'm sorry, but I find that ridiculous.

Anyone suggesting a 'wag the dog' scenario is indulging in some sort of conspiratorial fantasy.

It's a sign of the times, my Lady. When you can't trust your leaders, you get cynical. Personally, I think he said what he means and A&E got the optics wrong for their initial response. They may well have taken advantage of the controversy for boosting their brand, but that is making the best of a bad situation.
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Offline Cincinnatus

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #19 on: December 29, 2013, 10:04:12 pm »
Phil's staging the controversy in cahoots with A&E seems a bit far fetched, but I suppose anything is possible, given enough cynicism.

I wonder if the same approach can be applied to the "publicity stunt" cabal on here? Perhaps we can conclude that everything they post is insincere and they do it just to provoke controversy or for some other deep seated psychological need.

Yes, I am beginning to suspect that. They don't mean a word of what they say about Phil or any other topic for that matter.
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Offline musiclady

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #20 on: December 29, 2013, 10:08:24 pm »
It's a sign of the times, my Lady. When you can't trust your leaders, you get cynical. Personally, I think he said what he means and A&E got the optics wrong for their initial response. They may well have taken advantage of the controversy for boosting their brand, but that is making the best of a bad situation.

Neither Phil Robertson nor A&E are our 'leaders,' and the cynicism we all have for politicians is irrelevant to the conversation.

I'm sorry, but it's really reaching to imagine that the Robertson family and A&E plotted together to make more money for DD.

Sometimes it just is what it is......

Phil told the truth in an interview, GLAAD acted typically like bullies, A&E caved like scared rabbits, but when they realized they were killing their own cash cow, relented.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline musiclady

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #21 on: December 29, 2013, 10:10:07 pm »
Phil's staging the controversy in cahoots with A&E seems a bit far fetched, but I suppose anything is possible, given enough cynicism.

I wonder if the same approach can be applied to the "publicity stunt" cabal on here? Perhaps we can conclude that everything they post is insincere and they do it just to provoke controversy or for some other deep seated psychological need.

Yes, I am beginning to suspect that. They don't mean a word of what they say about Phil or any other topic for that matter.

Hmmmmmm...................... an interesting thought, Cincinnatus.

One thing for sure, there are some who are contrarians and (transparent) pot-stirrers, so knowing what they actually believe is practically impossible.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline Cincinnatus

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #22 on: December 29, 2013, 10:40:31 pm »
One thing for sure, there are some who are contrarians and (transparent) pot-stirrers, so knowing what they actually believe is practically impossible.

Well, ML, I am just applying their world view to themselves, have concluded they don't mean a word of what they say, and are motivated instead by some personal needs.
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Offline evadR

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #23 on: December 29, 2013, 11:00:41 pm »
One thing for sure, there are some who are contrarians and (transparent) pot-stirrers, so knowing what they actually believe is practically impossible.

Well, ML, I am just applying their world view to themselves, have concluded they don't mean a word of what they say, and are motivated instead by some personal needs.
No doubt there are a select few on this forum that are transparently duplicitous and disingenuous.
Their motive???...the word troll comes to mind, at least for one of them.
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Offline truth_seeker

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Re: PRUDEN: Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family teaches Hollywood a lesson
« Reply #24 on: December 29, 2013, 11:35:24 pm »

Phil told the truth in an interview, GLAAD acted typically like bullies, A&E caved like scared rabbits, but when they realized they were killing their own cash cow, relented.

Agreed. That is reality, and why they call it "reality TV."

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