MS-NBC: Lean Forward, But Try Not to Flail Your Arms Too Much
MS-NBC, tired of being so far in the ratings behind Fox News that they can’t make it out clearly with the Hubble Space Telescope, has decided to close the gap with a shiny new slogan. This slogan will reflect the network’s progressive bias in a positive way, will frame the channel as a serious place for serious people to get solid news and commentary on all the political news of the day. It is an action slogan, loaded with meaning and message, designed to inspire viewers to come back every day and fill up on intellectually nutritious dishes, served by consummate professionals who are a joy to watch and a pleasure to know.
That slogan is: “Lean Forward”.
Ooooookay. Let’s see what sort of positive spin the New York Times can put on its ally’s inspired choice of rebranding.
The tagline “defines us and defines our competition,” said Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, his implication being that the Fox News Channel, which is No. 1 in cable news and a home for conservatives, is leaning backward. Fox’s best-known tagline is “Fair and Balanced.”
It’s always bad when a company rebrands themselves as “not our competitor”. That’s usually a sign that the marketing department is not exactly in love with the product and has figured that banging away on the competition, and hopefully borrowing a little of the chipped-off mojo, will help things a bit.
Let’s grant that Griffin’s implication is correct and Fox leans backwards, Is that so bad? One could say that Fox is only leaning backwards because its ratings have been so good for so long that it’s permanently shoved back in its seat by the rocket-powered momentum. Leaning backwards shows confidence and security. It is a comfortable position, the position of a winner who consistently makes the right move to confound the competition.
On the other hand, leaning forward is not a good position to be in. It usually means you’re in the way or that something extremely uncomfortable is about to happen to you. It is the precursor to “Bend over” or “fall flat on your face”. It is the position taken by Eddie the Eagle right before he face-plants into a ten-foot high snow drift. It’s not exactly a phrase to cause viewers to flock to the network’s programming.
But when you’re so unbalanced that Keith Olbermann is your ace journalist, I guess leaning forward is the best description you can have.
(via memeorandum)
UPDATE: William Jacobsen: “The Great Lean Forward”? Ouch.
UPDATE 2: Da TechGuy: You could make a fair amount of loot marketing only to twenty percent of the population.
Other Posts of Interest:
- Shocker: MS-NBC Gives Another News Show to a Leftist
- When Politics is Personal, Slapfighting is Inevitable…and Fun to Watch!
- It’s Nice of Fox to Let PBS Do A Little Victory Dance
Category: Oh, THAT liberal media.
Lean Forward is their Slogan that will be game changing? Hrmmmm I am trying to refrain from the crude imagery that pops in my head. "Lean Forward" (to Pick up the Soap in the Prison Shower) "Lean Forward" ( to kiss your arse goodbye because the Obama Plane is Crashing) "Lean Forward" ( to better look down your nose at the Peasantry) "Lean Forward" ( to bow to those Elitist Bastards you worship)
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