Sorry, Can't Do It Massa

As I stated in one of my very first posts, I have absolutely no love for MTV, never have. And now that they've taken over BET, I see that they're turning it into the same youth worshiping, money greedy, all about demographics and not the people machine that is MTV.

I'd heard about the programming protests that have been going on, but didn't post about it as this is really a film blog, and they show they same movies over and over into perpetuity. But when I read this story on Stereohyped, it really did peak my interest:

It’s not just me (and probably most of you) — advertisers are catching on to the fact that BET’s new show, Hot Ghetto Mess is, well, a hot ghetto mess. State Farm and Home Depot told BET they no longer wish to be associated with the show, which airs July 25, either on its web page or during its commercial breaks.

BET declined to confirm specific advertisers defecting from the program but released the following statement: “A few of our clients have asked to move to other programming dayparts, and we simply accommodated their request.”

The corporate retreat appeared to be in response to a growing chorus of critics who have been calling for an advertiser boycott of the series, which is scheduled to premiere at 10:30 p.m. July 25. (A copy of the pilot could not be obtained before press time.)

“Mess” is a compilation of viewer-submitted home videos and BET-produced man-on-the-street segments that exhibit blacks in unflattering situations that typically illustrate the excesses of so-called hip-hop culture.

So if advertisers don’t advertise and viewers don’t watch, that must mean the show can’t exist, right? Too bad there is no shortage of corporations that will pick up where State Farm and Home Depot left off, not to mention the thousands of people who will find this show endlessly amusing. In other words, get ready to see a hot ghetto mess on a television screen near you.

From Invisible Woman: Stand up my people, stand up.

btw that is the actual logo for the BET show above