Posted on 08/30/2006 4:59:29 PM PDT by Huntress
General Motors Corp. has decided to end its sponsorship of CBS' hit series "Survivor," but the world's largest automaker said Wednesday that the decision had nothing to do with the reality show's controversial decision to divide its contestants in the upcoming season by race and ethnicity.
GM spokeswoman Ryndee S. Carney said the company made the decision in the normal course of making its media buys months ago, before the show made its recent announcement.
"I think it's just a coincidence. I know it's not cause and effect," Carney said.
A group of New York City officials have criticized the new format, saying it promotes divisiveness. They have asked CBS to reconsider its plans.
"How could anybody be so desperate for ratings?" City Councilman John Liu asked last week.
Show creator Mark Burnett said Tuesday that many of those criticizing the new approach haven't ever seen the show and don't understand how it works.
"By putting people in tribes, they clearly have to get rid of people of their own ethnicity," he told The Associated Press during a conference call. "So it's not racial at all."
For the first portion of the 13th edition of "Survivor," which premieres Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the $1 million prize while stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific will be divided into four teams _ blacks, Asians, Hispanics and whites.
GM, which has sponsored "Survivor" since it premiered in May 2000, is shifting some of its media dollars from prime-time television to more live sports, awards shows and other big events, Carney said.
The Detroit-based company also decided that its media strategy should feature cars and trucks integrated into shows, which was difficult on "Survivor," she said. Although one episode did feature a Pontiac Aztek, the opportunities for cars and trucks on the show were few, Carney said.
"There's a limited number of possibilities as to how you can integrate a car or truck in a show that people spend their whole time on an island," she said.
CBS spokesman Chris Ender said GM notified the network of its decision long before the new "Survivor" format was announced. He said the company had no knowledge of the competition by race.
"They informed us several months ago that they wouldn't be part of the upcoming season. It's unrelated to the controversy surrounding the upcoming edition," Ender said.
CBS Entertainment, which is part of New York-based CBS Corp., will stick with the format despite the criticism, he said.
Ender would not say if any other sponsors had left the show or if CBS had a replacement for GM.
CBS Entertainment, which is part of New York-based CBS Corp., has defended the ethnic twist, saying it follows the show's tradition of introducing new creative elements and casting structures that reflect cultural and social issues.
Yeah, right.
How could any company be so desperate to appear to be politically correct?
I have bought I believe FIVE General Motor's vehicles over the last 20 years or so.
I will NEVER EVER buy a GM product again.
This latest one is a lemon, and the GM service departments are even worse than the machine in my particular area.
GM ought to concentrate on building decent vehicles rather than sucking up to the mindless.
Toyota, here I come!
This will probably turn out to be a smart move by GM.
I guess people care about this junk. I sure don't
I applaud GM for walking away from the most racists show on TV.
GM spokeswoman Ryndee S. Carney said the company made the decision in the normal course of making its media buys months ago, before the show made its recent announcement.
Yeah, sure, right .... this 'group' is called "Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus (BLAC)", and the New York Post today opines the irony of their nonesense:
WHAT, NO WHITE CAUCUS?
"GM" and "survivor." That's funny.
I heard a GM car commercial on the radio this a.m. One part of the commercial was an attempt to sell passenger cars. Said something to the effect of buy the card and follow a band around the country. I don't know who is doing their marketing, but the whole commercial was silly.
GM or CBS?
In the Way Back days, God sorted people out by family, tribe, and nation. If God isn't afraid to do this, and if people work to get along in life, what's the problem here?
So this is Survivor:prison.
Hellllllllllllllllo Ryndee, why not just tell it like it is, GM does not want to be assciated with a racist program, simple truth is the best policy........stop this PC crap..........
Better late than never...you won't be disappointed.
I'll stay with the German hardware.
Not wishing to associate with a series that is scraping the bottom of the barrel by consciously pitting whites against blacks is a pretty smart move, it seems to me.
Reality shows
That you don't see the difference between a friggin' television show pimping for ratings and natural demographic similarities is bizarre.
Exactly - the idiots at GM (in general) are apparently just figuring out that sponsoring a show isn't going to help them sell cars. That approach only helps when *nobody* knows who you are and you're trying to increase your mindshare from zero. GM is well past that critical number.
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