last night CBS struck a blow against honesty, integrity, and ethics in journalism. here's how we hit back.
firstly, a brief primer on the economics of broadcasting.
understand this - when you are watching TV, you are NOT the consumer as far as the network goes. to them, you are the product. they are in the business of selling your eyeballs to advertisers. and yes, they certainly need to keep their viewership base in order to attract those advertisers, so complaining to CBS won't be counterproductive.
but i don't think it will do nearly as much good as complaining to the advertisers will. that's who CBS is beholden to. that's who CBS needs to keep happy.
here, courtesy of claudeb, is a list of advertisers from last night's broadcast, along with contact info (remember, it's always better to call on the phone or send actual snail mail than email):
Silk (Soy Milk)
1-888-820-9283 (weekdays 8am to 5pm CT, excluding holidays)
WhiteWave Foods Company
Consumer Affairs
12002 Airport Way
Broomfield CO 80021
Lanacane (oitment)
(800) 431-2610
Combe Incorporated
1101 Westchester Avenue
White Plains, New York 10604
Restasis (Eye drops)
online contact page only
Lyrica (Drug: pfizer)
no contact info that i can find... go figure.
Gas-X (anti-flatulence drug)
1-800-452-0051
Novartis Consumer Health, Inc.
Parsippany, NJ 07054-0622
Attn: Consumer Affairs
Evista (anti-osteoporosis drug: lilly)
1-800-LillyRx (1-800-545-5979), Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm Eastern Time.
Lilly Corporate Center
Indianapolis, Indiana 46285 USA
Swiffer (brooms: proctor and gamble)
no contact information readily available
Breath-Right (nasal strips)
online contact only
i'm running late for work myself, but i'll be making time shortly to let all of these people know how i feel about their sponsorship of what can only be described as intentional deception of the public.