First:
Davis White's Kelloggs spot. As with most Olympic promotionals, second-hand embarrassment swamps the viewer like a load of toxic off-gas. Whether it's Virtue and Moir and their moms suddenly discovering they were really, really upset not to be on the 2006 Olympic team, and, retroactively, could hardly watch the event because they thought they should be there, and didn't even know if there would ever be a chance to go to another one, or this, Meryl and Charlie's great love sponsored by Kelloggs, it's enough to make you choke on your morning cereal.
Back in March 2012, the blog approvingly reported that Meryl said this:
But I think people respect and appreciate Charlie and my relationship, and we would never want to pretend it was something else.”*That was then. Now all bets are off, baby.
That's closer than they get on the ice.
Greater love hath no live-in girlfriend than Tanith has demonstrated in the commentating booth shilling their deep soul connection, and then steering clear of Charlie's twitter on his birthday.** If he and Meryl have discovered true passion for each other, Tanith, a true patriot, will step aside.
IMO, here is the problem with the profound depths of the man/woman bond that has newly flourished between Meryl and Charlie.
This is something the public decides; it can't be foisted upon them as a fait accompli. It's like Poirier and Gilles constantly telling us how much personality they've got. That's not how it's done.
So I don't know about Davis and White's mania for ticking off every box.
Next we come to Patrick Chan:
Patrick and Karen break up
Patrick has dumped his mother, Karen. They remain good friends who wish each other the best. However, the relationship as it was had lasted past its sell by point, and, at age 22, Patrick felt it was time to be a big boy. Karen is coping by traveling in Europe (what happened to all that money the Chans didn't have?).
That's it. Patrick hasn't selected a new mom from among the ranks of his connections in Detroit.
Quotes that probably don't apply to Virtue and Moir:
“It was really hard for her. If it was her choice, she would definitely want to live with me. I had to draw the line.”
Words cannot express how much I LOVE that Patrick Chan is the exact opposite of Moir and Virtue. Do I really need to know the stuff he just shared? I do not. But I find it hilarious that he's a big deal, a World Champion, that Skate Canada was encouraging fans to throw their underwear on the ice in support (talk about off-gas, thank God Skate Canada wasn't really able to make that become a thing. Just post some signs around the arena saying "Patrick is straight and women find him attractive" and the same agenda is accomplished while keeping things hygenic.), and he's telling the world if his mother had her way, she'd live with him, but it was time to draw that line.
I don't think Moirville wants to live with Scott and Tessa, just crawl into bed with them from time to time, or maybe set up cameras in their home a la the Truman Show.
This quote does seem as if it could relate to Virtue and Moir.
“I think any mother, especially with an only child and an only son as a child, it’s very tough for them to let go, especially my mom who has played a huge role in my career,” Chan said, emphasizing ‘huge.’What is it about figure skating? You never really hear a hockey player talking about how mom has played a HUGE role in their career, washing their jerseys (I think the team laundry does that though - or am I assuming?), cleaning their skates, maintaining stat sheets, pestering the coach to put him or her in more. Maybe in middle school. In their twenties?
Mainly Patrick thinks being his own man is key to the run up to the Olympics. His mother may not be coping well, but his dad was at Skate Canada. His dad, apparently, is able to watch Patrick skate despite not being involved in Patrick's skating, or overly involved in his life.
It's amazing how this sort of boundary is a key transitional marker for young athletes.
Meantime, Scott and Tessa.
As is being discussed in a comments section lower down, Scott is out there talking about how this documentary is the realest and the most authentic. Except for the part where it's a lie, because he and Tessa are married and have a daughter nearly three years old, and in this production he and Tessa pretend to be platonic partners who struggle with their connection, "blow off steam" (oh please no), with "family and friends", and make sure each other's hypothetical love interests treat them well.
So IOW they're lower than the Kardashians. The Kardashians aren't pretending they're not related; they're not pretending they have different parents or siblings than they actually do have. They mostly manufacture drama for the cameras. Even from the previews we've seen with Tessa's meticulous make-up, shellacked hair and "you could be a stylist!" wardrobe and their glitzed out pool party outings and charming circa 1963 carnival strolling that it's the same thing with them, only more so. Where the hell does Scott get off side swiping the Kardashians?*** How is he better? Is the Olympic gold some magical cleansing agent?
___________________________
*From 2009:
That said, the spectacular skaters don't spend a ton of their away-from-the-rink time together.Plymouth/Canton Sports News, Ed Wright, 2009
"Free time? What's that?" Davis joked, smiling. "We'll hang out together during the off-season, but -- and I know Charlie would agree with this -- it's not like when I do have some free time, I'm thinking, 'Geez, I wish I could spend some more time with Charlie."
White nodded, smiling.
**Everybody knows it's not a real boyfriend if you don't express your love on social media.
***His snotting at the Kardashians is rich. If somebody waved Kardashian money at him and Tessa - or the ISC Bursary Fund - he'd have sex with Cassandra Hilborn on closed circuit television.
P.S. - Ayi yi that CP24 breakfast interview/product plug (Virtue Moir) was very embarrassing. When did it become a thing to directly embed a product plug in an interview? Promote your show or talk about how you're now designing your own line of dancewear or whatever, FINE, but to be sponsored by somebody and then have the interview say - what is your hair regimen? and you recite the product name and brand is really really really icky. That goes right in there with Meryl and Charlie tweeting about the Kelloggs products churning down their esophagi. But at least that's twitter. This is why the Olympics can be disgusting. A little sports squeezed in with a landslide of shilling.
Scott tried to bury his plug "for panTEEN" (he swallowed the first syllable and dragged out the second) and then jumped into a topic angle change, but we all saw what he did there. You can run but you can't hide.
Interesting post OC - no wonder figure skating can't earn new fans. It's bad enough that the commentators and writers, media don't do the sport justice by actually talking about the sport and questioning the judging...but now add the stupid layer added by the skaters..really...yup I rolled my eyes with Patrick Chan's recent blah blah blah...out of all three (VM, DW and Chan), I think Chan actually has the biggest ego and even though he is a great skater - I don't think he has a real passion for skating. He is extremely talented and has worked with very good coaches and choreographers - this is his job. If he continues after Sochi - it will be just for the $$$. I get the impression that he has to be top dog at a training rink...I am the man..and cut the cord off - mom...
ReplyDeleteThen you see someone like Jeremy Abbott - who might not be a favorite in terms of making the Olympic team - but has a great relationship with his Mom - and whose mom has supported all skaters at all levels and nothing...Hell would you see the Shibs dissing Mom/Dad or their grandparents - no...it's about respecting the sacrifices that your parents did and being there on the bad days...Patrick...perhaps the reason for you contemplating quitting on several occasions is you...not the environment...
I don't think Patrick cutting the cord from his mom is because he needs to be top dog but because he's 22 years old and alright already. Everybody needs to do it and good parents encourage it. Then there's skating parents.
DeleteOC - who knows what the real deal with Patrick Chan is and his relationship with his mom. Maybe it was overbearing...maybe Christy Krall's coaching style was overbearing for Patrick's personality and perhaps that's why he decided to just have Kathy Johnson as a coach. But it was totally hilarious to see after Patrick's short program at Skate Canada - Michael Slipchuk immediately showing Patrick on a video screen where the jumping errors were and providing feedback to Patrick alone - Kathy Johnson must have been in the KnC. But you are right - that at some point in time - boundaries need to be established and respected. In the end - these skaters need to do what works best for them. After all - there is life after skating...
DeleteThe Panties for Patrick thing was actually something started by some posters at FSU who got PJ Kwong to push it. It wasn't an SC thing.
DeleteI agree that Patrick cutting the cord had everything to do with him being 22 years old and it being past time. It sounds like he has set some boundaries with his other that he needs personally to become a full-fledged mature grown-up and she's reacting by lashing at a bit. When you first set boundaries that needed to have been set before, there is usually going to be a reaction of some sort. The key is to stand your ground. It sounds like it's what Patrick is doing, so good for him. His mother will eventually get over it and they can hopefully have a normal, appropriate parent/adult child relationship.
It is not disrespectful to your parents or their sacrifices to want to live as an adult and make your own decisions when the time comes. You don't have to relinquish full control of your life to a parent in order to show your utmost appreciation for what they've done for you over the years.
I don't know if she's lashing out, since she sent a good luck message. Acting out, yes. That's a lot of drama for a mother who has been told she can no longer surgically attach herself to every aspect of her 22 year old son's life, and that he'd prefer they not be roommates. What to do but swing in the other direction, go half a world away. IOW, she's got a boundary issue for sure. Either they're sharing a hotel room or she takes off for the other side of the world. She doesn't seem to know how to deal with being a parent to an adult, so she just bailed until she gets her bearings.
DeleteActing out is probably the better term for what I meant. She's not happy about this development. Patrick just needs to stand his ground and not give in to her, and it sounds like he's going to do just that. She'll get over herself eventually.
DeleteIt almost sounds like she's over it, she just can't HANDLE it. Literally. IOW, she has no idea how to be a parent that observes boundaries, so she has to put a literal boundary between herself and her kid. I can see how what she's doing could be read as manipulation, but it seems to me this simply reveals the extraordinary and extremely unhealthy degree of her involvement in Patrick's life and career. If she's there where he is, she has no idea what being a mother or person is if it's not 24/7 involvement in every single part of his world, and so she goes across the globe where she doesn't have to try to find balance - the geographical separation is doing the job for her. There's no middle ground - she doesn't know what it is and hasn't practiced. She's taking extreme measures to force herself into a different environment where she doesn't even watch his competitions (but does send good luck). With luck this experience will force-feed some non-Patrick experiences into her life and then she'll come back better equipped.
DeleteJust to add - if Patrick is selling the "cut off the cord with Mom" story - perhaps that is one reason why he is not a Procter and Gamble athlete...but I'll LMAO if he still sponsored by McDonalds - cuz yup we still need the $$$
ReplyDelete"So IOW they're lower than the Kardashians. The Kardashians aren't pretending they're not related; they're not pretending they have different parents or siblings than they actually do have. They mostly manufacture drama for the cameras."
ReplyDeleteLower than the Kardashians and any other family that has appeared on reality tv the past decade or ever. The TLC has turned into the channel of reality tv shows. Honey Boo Boo, The Duggars, Little People, Big World. All of these shows both exploit certain parts of real life while glossing over other parts, but no one in any of these shows has lied about what they are to each other, whether those relationships are romantic or familial.
The book was bad enough, but, IMO, this show is the worst thing they've done. Now, they're going to put on a little play on national television to act out their lies.
But you know they THINK they're better, and why? Because Scott and Tessa won Olympic gold? What does that have to do with their behavior? Scott didn't seem to think Tiger Woods' athletic success sanitized his behavior off the green, but the Moirs are completely blind.
DeleteI've never seen a crowd so grabby, grasping, belligerent, and UNPROFESSIONAL in every single aspect that's not taking place directly on a rink (give or take a 2011 4CCs withdrawal). They're a bunch of boorish clowns who've waited their entire lives for the big figure skating stage and they don't bother representing themselves, their town or their sport in a way that even bothers to disguise how self-dealing they are, how relentlessly focused on what's in it for us, and let's milk every dollar, every advantage, out of Scott and Tessa while we can. As they conduct themselves this way they don't exert common decency towards the public or towards one of the youngest members of their family.
anyone else find it amusing that the today show played a clip of v/m instead of d/w? like is the american media/public really that ignorant about figure skating? tbh im going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that the person in charge of the clips was a sekret v/m fan rofl
ReplyDeleteIt would be pretty damn funny if DW's people submitted a press packet calling them "Gold medalists" or saying "they're trying for two gold medals in Sochi" as they like to do and whoever did the clip just assumed that meant they were the Vancouver Olympic champions.
Delete"His snotting at the Kardashians is rich. If somebody waved Kardashian money at him and Tessa, he'd have sex with Cassandra Hilborn on closed circuit television."
ReplyDeleteThat would be funny if it weren't true. I used to think that perhaps Scott did have boundaries with what he would and wouldn't do but now I'm not so sure.
So many people would die for what he and Tessa have and yet they're content to scoff at it and for all intents and purposes, throw it away. Their daughter and the fans are no more important to them than the dirt on the bottom of their shoes and the fact that they seem to lump their own child into the same category as the fans is disgusting.
The Olympic gold medal is like one big moral exemption to them. It's been said we can see how involved the Moirs are in Scott and Tessa's life just by this sham, and it's gross. We can see what Scott and Tessa's opinion of themselves has become since they became legends in their own mind, and the degree to which they stick their hands out and demand money and attention for the lies they tell, while directing people to believe those lies, is also gross.
DeleteI just love how he thinks there's someone lower than him.
Delete"The Olympic gold medal is like one big moral exemption to them."
DeleteBut what makes it so much more pathetic (not to downplay the ethical angle, though) is that it's not a means to an end. It's a means against the end!
(Oh, you may have meant their past gold medal. But still, they're doing all this stuff, even when it's hurting their chance at their second).
DeleteDoes anyone wonder if pro skating was still a money-maker like back in the 80s and 90s - would VM have done this reality show? Not that this excuses them from their decisions but lets face it - Browning, Stojko, Sale/Peletier, G/G and others made their money after their amateur careers were over...Battle of the Blades has run its course...Stars on Ice in Canada is only 2-3 weeks...Japan is Japan...and there is only so much longer that Yuna can do her shows...
ReplyDeleteEverybody who gets into skating and has gotten into it over the past generation knows there's not 1990s pro money in the game so that's no excuse to become a freaking role playing whore while blaming everyone else for the choices you make, and getting holier-than-thou and sanctimonious about your lying. It's no real reason to go parading around every competion with your personal camera crew in addition to the broadcast media, which is just another layer of obnoxious to toss on the pile (others - security guards. Staging a live action sham mise en scene with the Moirs, Virtues and Ryan Semple and an assist from Skate Canada dead in the middle of the pairs competition at Skate Canada three years ago. Having your moms escort your fake gf like a perp through your ice dance practice at GPF so the fans can get an eyeful. The self-importance!)
DeleteThey're Canadian. If they want to make the kind of money they seem to want, turn American, change their last names to Kwan and get in a time machine.
What makes it more pathetic is because of these cameras with them in the airport Scott and Tessa have to extend the charade they usually perform at entrances to banquets - now they have to travel as if they're platonic. We all know platonic partners don't sit next to each other when they travel.
What kind of gold mine did Moirville think they were hitting if their skaters won Olympic gold? Instead their crawling in the gutter whoring themselves out for the equivalent of pennies, if you factor what they're selling out and look at what they're getting for it.
V/M have had plenty of opportunities to make money (Roots, etc.). They turned them down. I don't think they really doing this one for the money.
DeleteSince when did they turn down Roots? They accepted Roots, Roots announced it had entered into a 4 year "engagement" with Scott and Tessa, and it terminated after the first publicity blast. Tessa happened to be pregnant at the time. Roots likes its grass-roots, home grown image. Who terminated whom? Scott and Tessa decided it was too burdensome to train in something that wasn't Lululemon, or did Roots at first believe Virtue and Moir were going to be "out" (as did others around Virtue Moir) sooner rather than later, and when Virtue and Moir decided to sham through the Sochi quad, Roots pulled the plug? Roots isn't a one-off, it's not an entertainment outlet. If it spent four years presenting Scott and Tessa as one thing while knowing Scott and Tessa were another, it could impact the entire brand, which is supposed to be relatable and trustworthy.
Delete"When did it become a thing to directly embed a product plug in an interview? "
ReplyDelete???? It's been done since forever. Tanith Belbin used to be particularly excellent at doing it. I thought the way this was done was way better than, say, the Scotch Tape holiday commercials V/M did back in the day.
The Scotch tape commercials were blatant commercials.
DeleteIt's completely different to embed a commercial in the guise of an interview. People shout out sponsors all the time. This was an embed. It was buried in an interview question. That is definitely different. A lot of this was interview, and then at the tail end she plugged in the cues for the brand shout outs, without framing it as a brand shout out. Only after Tessa and Scott had incorporated brand names into their answers about their grooming and styling routine did the interviewer become more explicit that this was an actual plug for their sponsors.
Huh, I wonder if they're part of the Lululemon cult. It sounds a bit dysfunctional too.
DeleteDoesn't Tessa wear Ainsliewear? She has a testimonial on the company's website. Well, she wore that last season, at least. People were curious about her practice wear and managed to figure out which brand. I thought it was Michelle Kwan who wore Lululemon. Though if Tessa did subscribe to the Lululemon 'principles', it would explain some things.
DeleteScott has also been in Lululemon head to toe. They've got friends (Chris Mabee's sister-in-law) who works for Lululemon and sort of lives the Lululemon way. I don't know if it's exclusive but they did give it a boost.
Delete"Plugging Clump Crusher mascara. I haven't seen a Tessa fail this bad since the end of her and Scott's 2010 Liar's Day interview with Brian Mulroney."
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with plugging Clump Crusher mascara? Aren't they sponsoring them?
The problem isn't the plug itself - plugs happen constantly. It's disguising that it was a plug by sliding it into the interview with no segue.
DeleteShe asked a bunch of regular interview questions and then set them up for the plug with no frame that it was a plug. This is different. After the plug was done then on the back end she acknowledged Virtue Moir had great sponsors.
You mean Tessa tried to make the plug look genuine without disclosing that they were a sponsor? It makes you wonder what else about their interviews could be crafted?
DeleteI agree with 2:01 that the product placement ads aren't anything new--they've been done by others. VM are just terrible at it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, does anyone believe that Tessa really wears Covergirl? I don't have near the financial resources that she has and I spring for the department store make-up. Covergirl is one of the worst of the drugstore brands in terms of not wearing well, not covering well, and causing breakouts.
"I thought the way this was done was way better than, say, the Scotch Tape holiday commercials V/M did back in the day."
Hey, those Scotch Tape commercials that the ice dancers did, not just VM , are comedy gold. Marina's reaction to receiving her fake gift is one of the most hilarious things ever.
"Also, does anyone believe that Tessa really wears Covergirl?"
ReplyDeleteLol. That would be like believing Meryl Davis eats Kelloggs.
When actresses shill for a hair color, apparently it's required that they color at least part of their hair with the brand (usually a home color, boxed brand), even if 90% of the rest of their hair is colored via custom blend in a salon. A few strands at the nape of the neck was the usual way the spokesperson adheres to truthiness, or was.
DeleteI wonder if Meryl and Charlie actually have to eat Kelloggs, because who would oversee that? Or if they're required to eat "a" grain of a Nutrigrain bar, or split a cornflake between them in the morning?
Also, as a side note, I'm curious how the Kelloggs relationship is structured, particularly on twitter. From what I'm reading, even at the highest level of celebrity, the celebrities are paid per tweet. Not, we'll pay you X and for that amount, you tweet a minimum number of tweets in this period (although that also sounds like a potential partnership structure). Some of the lower level celebrities, such as those on competitive reality shows, choke their twitter with brand shout outs. Which makes one wonder if there's a limit to how much cash they can trigger with shout outs in a given period, or if the sponsor sets a limit.
DeleteWell I don't mind the product placements...it's scripted and you are selling a product..today it seemed to be media day for figure skaters - hell even Lindsay Vonn - an American alpine skiier who may be still dating Tiger Woods got the PG seal of approval for Covergirl and at least 2 other products according to her twitter and was in NYC today (along with Evan Lysacek and DW)...so it just comes with the territory - and folks believe me Lindsay Vonn does not need this endorsement from PG - she may not be in Maria Sharapova's or Serena Williams earnings bracket range - but she is very comfortable...
ReplyDeleteAnd really I think you would have to be a bit naive to believe that just because an athlete is sponsored by a company, that the said athlete actually uses the product...wasn't it recently announced that Katy Perry will be a Covergirl - so on the product placements I am giving VM a pass...but yeah OC - Tessa is not that natural in front of the camera...but to be fair - not that many people are...(Evan - make sure you thank Vera Wang - for that Ralph Lauren promo, LOL)...
There is nothing new about product placement except that it must be clear it's product placement. Twitter has been checked out repeatedly in the US to make sure that celebrity followers understand when a celebrity has been paid to shout out a brand and when the celebrity is just tweeting because they genuinely like something. Of course the "making clear it's product placement" set ups are slick, but the public is familiar with the set ups and can make the distinction between something the celebrity actually likes and something they're paid to like.
DeleteThis interview did the set up on the back end. When the interviewer asked Scott and Tessa about their grooming and presentation rituals, there was no warning it was a product placement. But as soon as they'd made their plugs, THEN she did the due diligence about sponsorship and showed the over-valued package viewers could win, which made it clear what Scott and Tessa had just praised was something they're paid, one way or the other, to praise.
As unbearable as Meryl and Charlie's Kelloggs plugs may be, they and I think Kelloggs made a big announcement about the new affiliation, which I believe met whatever requirements are in place for celebrities using twitter to disclose when they're paid to push something. DW did it up front. In my experience with product placement in interviews, it's new to put it in an interview with no demarcation whatsoever and then only introduce the fact that it's a paid endorsement after the fact.
I am very confident that the way this plug was delivered was well within Canadian regulations - the interviewer got more blatant after the plug happened. But I think this approach is much less effective than letting the athlete just give his or her sponsor a good shout out or in a straight up commercial. Trying to slide it into a "real" interview up front is just all kinds of awkward and there wasn't a feature on Tessa's face that didn't look shifty.
Delete"In my experience with product placement in interviews, it's new to put it in an interview with no demarcation whatsoever and then only introduce the fact that it's a paid endorsement after the fact."
DeleteI've seen this style of product placement often, especially on talk shows. I think it's pretty common these days.
I think the issue with product placement is that it's become a bit more in-your-face than it once was, or at least feels more scripted than ever before because the placement is being done more via in-person, studio interviews. If Virtue and Moir were doing a commercial and made the same product spiel it would likely work better. But doing it in a studio feels very forced. Davis and White's Kelloggs commercial is comical as well (when they started lauding their morning cereal routines I cracked up), but that sort of over the top presentation is more expected for these types of sponsorships (Virtue and Moir's P&G commercial of moms, angst, and tears being a great example).
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, I don't begrudge the skaters for signing on with these companies (or doing so through their national Olympic committees or whatever). Any and all support is much appreciated, no doubt. It's just that the majority of them are not naturals when it comes to this sort of thing and it shows. Somewhere on youtube there's an interview with Mary Lou Retton where she talks about doing commercials for various products. And she's like "ohhhhh, yeah. Some of them were so corny but the support and money made it easier to get through" or something to that effect.
As for Davis and White, I will laugh SO HARD if they try to sell to the public that they're a romantic couple as part of some misguided PR push. They'll be so BAD at it.
I imagine Zhulin (think it's him) is unaware of the p.r. spin in the US that is packaging Davis White so, unfiltered, what he sees is a couple of robots who can't look at each other and do gymnastics instead of skating. You'd think after all this effort, DW would at least incrementally improve their on-ice impression of being connected, but apparently no dice.
ReplyDeleteSomething funny happened with the Today Show guesting of D/W at the Rockefeller Rink. As they were being introduced, the network aired footage of V/M's Mahler at Vancouver. Oops.
ReplyDeleteWould have been funny to see that. Any links around to see it?
DeleteTry this one (Skating duo: ‘Respect’ is key to success): http://www.today.com/video/today/53403364
DeleteUnfortunately, I wasn't able to access it; some fans have seen it though. A skater, Jimmy Morgan, tweeted about it (called it a 'journalistic oops'). The link might only work in the US, I'm not sure.
Well this part was accurate at least.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/LzE0q9MMPWg?t=1m50s