Over the years SHOOT has chronicled the pending transition to DTV on assorted fronts, exploring the applications and implications for the advertising community. With Feb. 2009 fast approaching, mainstream consumer press has started paying more attention to the transition, focusing on this and related developments, particularly regarding HD.
Both trade and consumer press, for example, have reported on Toshiba’s decision to pull the plug on HD DVD, making Sony’s Blu-ray the format winner. Yet there’s an advertising/marketing aspect that’s largely been ignored.
Toshiba’s decision came about two months too late for those who bought HD DVD players as Christmas gifts for themselves or loved ones. An acquaintance of mine now views his player as a rather expensive paper weight.
To folks wearing rose-colored glasses, it is mere coincidence that the thumbs down on HD DVD came not too long after significant revenue from player sales was generated during the holidays. To those who are a bit more jaded, the decision’s timing was calculated to ensure that the Xmas season would bring good tidings to Toshiba.
Whatever your view, clearly those who recently invested in HD DVD deserve better. Days after Toshiba’s announcement, a visit to its website thelookandsoundofperfect.com didn’t even offer a hint of restitution to consumers who mistakenly cast their lot with HD DVD. However, a press release was on the site with news of “record-breaking unit sales in the fourth quarter of 2007.”
Since then, the site has been updated and a new release was posted informing us that despite the discontinuation of HD DVD, “Toshiba will continue to provide full product support and after-sales services.” A toll-free number was posted that customers could call to get “answers to general questions and operational assistance for their HD DVD players.”
With today’s raft of self-anointed crusading reporters who are supposedly looking out for us, I’m hard pressed to find any substantive coverage of this story from the standpoint of consumers who have been left holding the bag. And from an ad community perspective, the art of the pitch has become a bit more difficult in that many consumers–particularly HD DVD consumers–are understandably less trusting of marketers who are courting them.
And what about Toshiba? How should we view claims about future products from that manufacturer in light of the fate of those customers who recently committed to the HD DVD experience?
Old school thinking is that short-term gain ultimately results in long-term pain, meaning it’s short sighted for any company not to do right by its customers, at least for those whose players are barely out of the boxes they came in.
But new school is currently in session. And new school’s sad lesson is that the general public seems to forget all too soon and many might be just as willing to buy the next time around when the latest, greatest product claims are made.
So the question becomes for agencies and their clients, are they old school or new school? If the answer is the latter, then perhaps school’s out.
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More