Intelligent TV – the next big thing?
I was, I must confess, mistaken about last night’s Gruen Nation.
As I watched the Gruen Transfer spin-off yestersay, I felt a bit sad – 45 minutes felt too long. Not for me – it was good stuff for an ad nerd. But there was no way they’d be able to keep audience attention for that extra 15 minutes. I hoped they’d keep their heads above one million in the ratings and people wouldn;t be too harsh about a brave experiment.
And although it was informative, entertaining stuff – particularly from Neil Lawrence (once he got going) – there surely wasn’t going to be that sort of public appetite for advertising minutiae.
Hearteningly, it turns out there actually is – 1.6m of them in fact.
It was an excellent show last night. I didn’t have high hopes either, but the excellent panel with John Hewson, Neil Lawrence Annabel Crabb (rather than the standard Todd/Rus comments) made it a great show. Hopefully they have them back again soon.
I thought Annabel seemed to have a better grasp of consumer marketing and effective message delivery than many in advertising
Let’s face it, the ABC’s Gruen, 7.30 Report, Q&A and even the Chaser beats the crap out of the rubbish on commercial TV.
If I see one more story on TT/ACA about diets, how to make a fortune on real estate, love rats, shopping bargains, cosmetic surgery, I’ll throw up.
The ABC’s ratings show there is a place for intelligent television. More please.
I thought 45 minutes was spot on.
I’m no ad nerd, but I enjoy reading this blog and watching the Gruen Transfer for the same reason. Advertising is a big part of all of our lives, and Gruen (and you) explain it all for me in a way that’s digestible. You explain things simply but not simplistically.
Gruen’s content is designed for people like me who don’t know that much about ad-land. I’d actually imagine that many real ad nerds might find the show a bit tedious and simple.
I enjoyed the chaser as well, directly after, although it did get a little over the top.
I thought it was perfect length and have been saying for a while that at 30 minutes the original show was too short!
The Chaser was also great. Election time really is when The Chaser really shines.
I have seriously lamented the IQ of Australian TV since Big Brother hit our screens. Where is our Jon Stewart, or Colbert Report, our Letterman? Well they’re here, waiting to be presented – commercial networks just need to follow the ABC’s respect for their audience. My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, insight and pun of Gruen Nation.
Im with Mike. Big Brother and it’s ilk was the beginning of the end. The Gruen Transfer is one of the very few TV shows that I will drop everything for. – Intelligent, entertaining, informative.Will is a good mediator, Russ and Todd with their often opposing views make for a really great evening of banter.