NBC Wants To Trick You Into Recycling (And Buying Stuff)

When NBC began their Green Initiative in 2007, a plan that forced all of their programs to incorporate “green” storylines twice a year during designated “Green Weeks,” any rational person could peg it as a cynical attempt to latch onto a social movement.  However, we didn’t have proof of just how cynical it was until the Wall Street Journal’s Amy Chozick did a fascinating piece on it yesterday. Nearly everything in the article is stuff anyone could have assumed watching the “Green Week” broadcasts, but reading the quotes and seeing just how seemingly gleeful the NBC execs are in their cynicism, is surprisingly painful.

The first insult comes early when Chozick’s article reveals that execs call the technique “behavior placement” which is so sinister sounding that George Orwell would have considered it too heavy-handed for 1984. The article goes on to show the reader just how much bottom-line thought goes into simple acts like Tina Fey throwing out a water bottle in an episode of 30 Rock.

From the

article:

“While the network says it tries to incorporate green programming throughout the year, the special emphasis twice a year creates an “event” that provides opportunities to advertisers, an NBC spokeswoman says. For instance, a Wal-Mart ad focusing on locally grown produce ran this past November after an episode of the medical drama “Trauma” in which emergency medic Rabbit rescues a window washer dangling precariously from a building; medics are alerted to the situation by a man sitting in his hybrid vehicle.”

Ugh. And the sitcoms and dramas aren’t the only one’s who are affected. During a 2008 “Green Week,” MSNBC had correspondent Kevin Corke cover the presidential primary in Pennsylvania by driving around in something called the “Green Machine”. As a helpful side note, the news program wasn’t remiss in reminding viewers that the vehicle was a Ford Escape hybrid!

NBCU has been making huge strides in the areas of corporate integration. The product placement has been around for years (in all fairness, almost since the beginnings of television), but this “behavior placement” just seems so insulting to viewers. At the very least, the execs who gave the interview to the WSJ could pretend that it’s all actually about saving the environment. And, hey, if you like “Green Week”, get ready for “Health Week”! The WSJ article states that that new marketing opportunity will

come be coming in June and it’s something NBCU has been working on for a while. Makes sense though. If those lovely car companies can show just how much they care about the earth, it’s only fair that NBC allows companies like McDonalds to show how much they care about your health!

Look, we all know that television is a business. Everything is a business. Hell, every action on this planet can pretty much be boiled down to people trying to stay alive, reproduce, or make money. Still though, there’s just something so creepy about reading all these quotes stacked together.

As soul crushing as it may be though, you really should read the article. It’s a truly interesting peek into what it takes to make “art” in this day and age and we all need a bracing splash of reality every once and again. And after you’re done, you can always spend the rest of the day watching Frank Capra movies until you cry yourself to sleep…