Thoughts on sponsors

[Luke kun]

I don't know why I'm talking about this. It's just too random to bring up. And I decided to post about it.

That being said, do you like the sponsor plugs that they have for Sesame Street? What sponsors do you miss?

I'll list my favorite.

1. Earth's Best Organic. I really liked the music in this sponsor plug, and the fact that the kid was sliding down vines and playing the bongo drums, and I LOVED that trumpet riff halfway through the music. I always dreamed of going to that area of fun and organic vegetables. (Just like how I want to go to the Between the Lions library...) That being said, this is one of the best SS sponsor plugs.
2. Discovery Zone. One of the first sponsor plugs on SS! And I love DZ. ARCADE GAMES!
3. PNC Grow Up Great. This one is one of the current sponsors. And I like the music. Especially the first few beginning notes.
4. Good Egg Project. I actually once thought this was a McDonald's sponsor plug. I'm wrong. I like how the egg was sent to different places, THEN BACK TO THE ORIGINAL GUY. How did that happen?

That was my list of my favorite SS sponsor plugs! Now it's your turn. What sponsor plugs do you like? And what sponsor plugs scared the **** out of you as a kid? (The Funky Chimes DO NOT count. SS was just getting down to the pub. )

 

[Oscarfan]

My favorite sponsors are the letter Q and the number 12.

 

[Drtooth]

There's this cooking program called "Taste This TV." It's the cheapest, low rent-est, cable access looking thing you'd ever see. It has a whopping 12 sponsors. It almost comes off as the Family Guy gag about movie production logos, or the one about the extended Maude Theme song. Really... it just feels endless. And I swear, mentioning them by name one after another still takes just under what Sesame's sponsors take.

I really love the "Oh, sure we'll help sponsor your show, but what's in it for us, besides the tax write off?" attitude of the sponsors. I remember when sponsors just announced their names, maybe had a brief 10 second thing... now it's like, we have these 30 second commercials that are blatantly obvious. And two of them are corporate partners that have merchandising deals. To wit, an FCC ruling that's been around since the 70's bars the use of commercials from running during shows they're promoting. I.e. no G.I. Joe toy commercials during an episode of G.I. Joe. Conflict of interest. Now, what PBS has to follow one way or another, I'm not sure of.

But what really gets me is that McDonalds was the only sponsor that any group actually complained about. NOT the Spagetti-o's one that actually was a commercial that claimed that it had "as much Calcium as a glass of milk." Nor did they bother with the ones before Clifford ("Lipton Noodle Soups invites you to use your noodle") or the 30 second cinnamon rolls that was as subtle as a china cabinet falling down a flight of stairs. The real issue should have been that these companies were using their sponsorship to put advertisements on PBS! And even if someone did something about it you know they'd refuse to sponsor anyway because corporations. it's so sad they have to resort to that to keep the show funded so PBS can afford to run it.

That out of the way, that Earth's Best organic piece of crap with the flat photo of a kid's head on a creepy CGI body... yeah,... not horrifying in any way at all. Let's give the kids some real sweet dreams, huh?

 

[Luke kun]

That out of the way, that Earth's Best organic piece of crap with the flat photo of a kid's head on a creepy CGI body... yeah,... not horrifying in any way at all. Let's give the kids some real sweet dreams, huh?

WHAT? YOU DARE INSULT MY FAVORITE SPONSOR PLUG?

 

[Drtooth]

Yes. Yes I do. Studio Brinquendo couldn't make a worse case of Uncanny Valley.

Anyway, for future reference, here's the Spaghettios Tag. It starts at 0:22

Yeah. I reiterate. The McDonald's one was the one they complained about. Not this one. The one that says canned nitrate meat and salty pasta is healthy. No. The one that only features Ronald's off screen hand with no mention of hamburgers, fries, or Grimace.

 

[minor muppetz]

I like the Kentucky Fried Chicken bumpers that aired in the late-1980s/early-1990s (searched for it on YouTube yesterday but couldn't find it). In which a chicken pulls up a rope to show the KFC logo, then makes a "Phew!"

 

[Luke kun]

I like the Kentucky Fried Chicken bumpers that aired in the late-1980s/early-1990s (searched for it on YouTube yesterday but couldn't find it). In which a chicken pulls up a rope to show the KFC logo, then makes a "Phew!"

I remember that one! Turns out Discovery Zone wasn't the first sponsor for SS at all.

 

[minor muppetz]

I remember that one! Turns out Discovery Zone wasn't the first sponsor for SS at all.

Besides, I just read that Discovery Zone opened in 1989, and Sesame Street began in 1969. DZ couldn't have been the first sponsor.

 

[Luke kun]

Besides, I just read that Discovery Zone opened in 1989, and Sesame Street began in 1969. DZ couldn't have been the first sponsor.

Sponsor plug. It's like a little commercial.

 

[minor muppetz]

Sponsor plug. It's like a little commercial.

And the show didn't have sponsor plugs when the show began?