The United States of TV Land
April 25th, 2007 by Katie
Forget boxers versus briefs, Harlem transplant Bill Clinton favors I Love Lucy, Grey’s Anatomy, 24 and Boston Legal. With these must-knows out of the way, the former president took full advantage of a full hour in a room with TV’s most powerful party — advertisers.
Clinton was the show-stopper for TV Land’s 2007 upfront presentation, where network execs hosted a sneak peek of their fall shows for media buyers. The scene was reminiscent of the Senate floor, with every suit trying to rally votes — I mean ad space. I was astonished that the perks of being an advertising constituent now included being in the same room as the former president. I had under-estimated my party’s power.
Roping Clinton into the upfront not only represented how well the network knew their Boomer audience (important to the advertisers with money to burn) but also gave TV Land a great press hook -– showing their strategic marketing know-how. Clinton took the marketing opportunity and elevated the concept to a higher level that he could expand upon: Baby Boomers and the evolution of the global economy.
He stood tall, his hair a bit whiter, his voice a bit deeper and his words wiser after reaching 60 years old. To appease the audience, he gave a shout out to Jon Stewart, whom Clinton’s daughter Chelsea compares to Boomer icon Walter Cronkite. He then went on to describe the media target and how that demographic gave over $1 million in 2006, helping raise social consciousness higher than ever before. With this ideal behavior noted, he also reminded the room not to forget that we deal with the reality that the world we live in is “unfair, unequal and unsustainable.” Global dependence has made every person on earth closer to each other, he continued, but this codependence has transformed from beneficial to fear-inspiring. The presentation went on to address the causes championed by the former president, including natural disaster relief, global warming and poverty.
Intermittently, the execs posed questions about current-day America to spark inspiration to build a better 21st century. He articulated the state of our evolving world in his trademark conversational, instinctual speaking style, citing public opinion, statistics and foreign policy without hesitation. It was a dramatic shift after five years of teleprompter-style White House speeches with lengthy, empty pauses.
With a charming quip, Clinton (a Boomer himself) brought the discussion full circle when he spoke about his wife, New York state Senator Hillary, now that she is a 2008 Democratic presidential hopeful: “I’m particularly grateful to TV Land for giving me something to do at night.”
Image taken from belowthefold.com