GM pulls its ‘Survivor’ sponsorship--says it isn't about race

[Horse with no Name]

:eyes:
For the first portion of the 13th edition of “Survivor,” which premieres Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the $1 million prize while stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific will be divided into four teams — blacks, Asians, Hispanics and whites.

GM, which has sponsored “Survivor” since it premiered in May 2000 and was the show’s exclusive automotive sponsor, is shifting some of its media dollars from prime-time television to more live sports, awards shows and other big events, Carney said.

The Detroit-based company also decided that its media strategy should feature cars and trucks integrated into shows, which was difficult on “Survivor,” she said. Although one episode did feature a Pontiac Aztek, the opportunities for cars and trucks on the show were few, Carney said.

“There’s a limited number of possibilities as to how you can integrate a car or truck in a show that people spend their whole time on an island,” she said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14589787/

[NYCGirl]

1. And every time someone won the car, they got voted off the island. It was

considered the "curse of the car." Couldn't have been good for business.

[spindrifter]

2. What possessed Survivor to divide into racial teams?

I was appalled when I found out they did that.

[Horse with no Name]

3. My personal opinion?

I think that this group of thugs empowered racists to come to the forefront again.
Racism has always existed...but it hasn't been so BLATANT in the mainstream as it has been in the past few years.

[ComerPerro]

7. racism, today, is completey ok as long as you qualify it

as in, "I know black people, and some of them are great people, some are even friends of mine, but for the most part black people are lazy"

[Horse with no Name]

8. Yes.

And it is despicable. They demonized the citizens of NOLA so effectively, I'm surprised there aren't more James Byrd incidents.

[ComerPerro]

10. Remeber the white people who found some bread?

and the black guy who looted it?

[Horse with no Name]

12. Yep.

The AP/UPI photos. Utterly disgraceful. Or the white people in the hotel who commandeered necessary supplies from the local drug store vs. the elderly black lady who evacuated to a hotel and was arrested and jailed for taking food out of her own trunk?

[ComerPerro]

14. no suprise that N.O. became a cesspool of violence and death

look who was there. Poor people. Black people.


I wish I had a fucking nickel every time I heard some racist, RW shithead say that little gem.

I could probably pay for the entire reconstruction myself.

[Richard Steele]

15. Black people LOOT; white people "find things".

Edit: I just noticed that the white folks are 'residents',
but the other kid is just a 'young man'.

[KittyWampus]

17. How do you know the 2 people in 2nd photo are "white", Hmmmm?

cause that girl looks like a BLACK friend of mine from highschool days.

Thanks for providing the photos.

[ComerPerro]

22. you're absolutely right. There is no racism anymore. Anywhere

[ComerPerro]

23. I didn't notice that detail until you pointed it out

[KittyWampus]

16. The white/black looting photo bull? DU'ers showed their own racism

in that whole idiotic flap.

Supposedly one photo showed two "white" people and that caption said they found bread.

How, pray tell, did any DU'er know if the people in the 'found' photo were white? Cause they both looked white? The girl in the forefront looked like a BLACK friend of mine in highschool.

So DUers better do some introspection before they denounce others for prejudging people and using preconcieved notions.

[Richard Steele]

19. Ooookaaay.

[ComerPerro]

21. well, that's just it, isn't it. LOOKED white

[Richard Steele]

13. Yeah, they 've felt safe to crawl out from under their rocks again lately.

They've really been popping up everywhere, and I've just
felt like :wow: at how frickin' BOLD and BLATANT
they are.

[soothsayer]

24. I think it's racist to DISLIKE this season of survivor, whereas if you

actually believe everyone's equal (and since they're on a pretty level playing field, stranded out on their desert isles or whatnot), then it will just be interesting to watch how INDIVIDUALS do, and whether the tribes have any interesting cultural differences in the way they work together, strategize, etc.

I'm really looking forward to it, and am puzzled by why people are howling 'racism' over this.

[ComerPerro]

26. sounds like conservative apologist bullshit

sorta like, "If women are equal to men, then maybe my bitch wife can get her lazy ass out there and mow the lawn"

And, its race baiting

[Richard Steele]

28. They divide people by RACE, and you are 'puzzled' by the cries of RACISM.

You make me sad.

[kenny blankenship]

5. probably the desire to target product ads to different demographics

thus maximizing ad revenues: a marketing ploy masquerading as a creative choice, which is all your television will ever be. Turn it off.

[ComerPerro]

4. wish they would have said it was about race

because Survivor's idea is disgusting

[NYCGirl]

25. But, according to the article, they made the decision months ago, before

the tribal idea was announced.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060830/ap_en_tv/gm_survivor

CBS spokesman Chris Ender said GM notified the network of its decision long before the new "Survivor" format was announced. He said the company had no knowledge of the competition by race.

"They informed us several months ago that they wouldn't be part of the upcoming season. It's unrelated to the controversy surrounding the upcoming edition," Ender said.

[ComerPerro]

27. ahh, well then, guess there was no possibility

[Orrex]

6. Hmm....

“There’s a limited number of possibilities as to how you can integrate a car or truck in a show that people spend their whole time on an island,” she said.

So the problem is integration, then? :evilgrin:

Hell, I don't care why they pulled their sponsorship of this idiotic, mind-deadening show; I'm just glad that they did it.

Good for GM!

[derby378]

9. Has SURVIVOR "jumped the shark?"

Or "pole-vaulted the Aztek?"

[NYCGirl]

11. Not for me. It's my favorite guilty pleasure. Even if the people are bores

the scenery is always incredible!

[KittyWampus]

18. If you want to watch SURVIVORS check out the footage of NOLA post-Katrina

Survivor the show disgusts me and I question the judgement of people who find it worthwhile.

[Horse with no Name]

20. I've never seen the show

I'm not a fan of reality TV.
However, just as I was appalled last year when they filmed their show on ancestral burial grounds, I was just as appalled this year when they are dividing people by race.
This show deliberately seeks controversy. I am happy to see that a major sponsor has pulled out. When more of them do, the show is history. I for one will not miss it.