AT&T and DirectTV encourage people to watch football at the theater?!- Page 2

[Pootie2]

Posted: 9/15/15 at 7:58am

AT&T's passive-aggressive "you weren't supposed to interpret it like that" is definitely not an apology. Written like the egotistical football frat boy and shifting blame onto the reader/viewer. It should have been "In retrospect, our joke was poorly expressed, and we're sorry for that."

 

I hope they got enough cancellations to make a blip, at least.

 

 

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/15/15 at 10:13pm

 

 

From the clever and talented Andrew Keenan-Bolger (‏@KeenanBlogger):

 

 

 

 

 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/15/15 at 10:18pm

Is that pro-bootleg?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/15/15 at 10:20pm

 

And from the Signature Theater, where West Side Story opens in December:

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 9/15/15 at 10:21pm

So the meme begins!

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 2:55pm

Adamgreer called it! Patti released a statement.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Patti-LuPone-Weighs-in-on-ATT--What-Altered-Reality-Do-You-Live-In-20150917

 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 3:37pm

This is the Pattiest thing Patti ever Pattid.

[BOM]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 7:31pm

She's mostly right except for the fact that they do sell beer at the theater.

[PatrickDennis92]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 8:58pm

I feel bad for Patti, because I feel she is letting all this get to her personally and in such a deep way, that she is becoming bitter and coming dangerously close to irrevocably so. Yes, we're all outraged by the way some people behave at the theatre, but I think everyone needs to take a chill pill. This is part of growing up-- and I mean that in more than one way. We have to be tolerant and understand that some people don't have the etiquette knowledge; we can do our part to educate them, but it shouldn't turn into that which makes us bitter. And in another way, technology is just outpacing tradition. Soon it will be something else that is distracting at the theatre, and that's part of growing up as a whole, our evolving technology and how it collides with the world as we know it. There isn't a ringtone loud enough or a screen bright enough to jusify taking our joy away, so I wish we could all calmly understand that we have some work to do and get to doing it, without it turning us into the "cranky old" of our time.

Updated On: 9/17/15 at 08:58 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 9:23pm

It's one thing to "educate" people, but when a major corporation is encouraging bad behavior it's a whole other thing. 

What exactly is Patti bitter about? Cranky, sure, but that's part of her charm. I find her candor about this matter refreshing. She's standing up for theater fans. 

 

Im not sure what exactly you're proposing as a solution? When someone is texting in the middle of a show, walk over and try to reason with them, while the performance is occurring?

[PatrickDennis92]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 9:42pm

When an ad like that can get approved from a major corporation it shows there is a big problem, and that many many many people don't know it's a problem. That should give us some context. We're lashing at out those people who end up inside the theatre who come by their mistake honestly. And most people do have the good sense not to use their phones, but this ad should tell us that we should reach further, or in a different way. and yes, I agree Patti's sassy crabby cranky attitude is totally her-- but it shouldn't delight us at the expense of her well-being. I think she's really letting this get to her. Like it used to be funny. Now I think she cries in her dressing room. 

Updated On: 9/17/15 at 09:42 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 9:53pm

The problem is American football.  There really isn't a single problem in this country that would not be addressed in some way if there were a 10 year moratorium on American football games on EVERY level, from pee wee to the odious NFL.  I mean, there was a RIOT at Penn State not because one of the coaches had a predilection for humping kids in the team shower, but because football was suspended.

 

 

Updated On: 9/17/15 at 09:53 PM

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 9:58pm

PatrickDennis92 said: "This is part of growing up-- and I mean that in more than one way."

How much more is she supposed to grow up? She's already 66, well on her way to actual cranky old-ladydom.

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 10:05pm

PatrickDennis92 said: "We have to be tolerant and understand that some people don't have the etiquette knowledge; we can do our part to educate them..."

 

By like putting a big oversize thing in the playbill saying to turn off the device, having an usher before the show walk up and down the aisle saying to turn off your device and often a pre-show announcement saying to turn off your device? Good ideas... all of which are already happening.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 10:09pm

 

Tasers, I tell you. Arm ushers with tasers.

 

 

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 10:21pm

givesmevoice said: "PatrickDennis92 said: "This is part of growing up-- and I mean that in more than one way."

 

How much more is she supposed to grow up? She's already 66, well on her way to actual cranky old-ladydom."

 

She really is becoming the new Elaine Stritch, and I love every waking second of it. 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 11:30pm

PatrickDennis92 said: "When an ad like that can get approved from a major corporation it shows there is a big problem, and that many many many people don't know it's a problem. That should give us some context. We're lashing at out those people who end up inside the theatre who come by their mistake honestly. And most people do have the good sense not to use their phones, but this ad should tell us that we should reach further, or in a different way. and yes, I agree Patti's sassy crabby cranky attitude is totally her-- but it shouldn't delight us at the expense of her well-being. I think she's really letting this get to her. Like it used to be funny. Now I think she cries in her dressing room. 

Theaters have signs up, notices in the Playbill, ushers reminding  people, and announcements before the show begins. What would constitute going further? What other way should the theater community reach out? You've said this twice now, but haven't elaborated on what exactly you're looking for. 

And I really think you're misjudging LuPone's psyche on this. She's enjoying every bit of attention she's getting out of this, and while I think she genuinely cares about it, I don't think she's crying herself to sleep over it. 

"

 

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 11:49pm

Basically on top of what we already have in theaters, we need to get Annie from the Belasco (she's free now, right?) and that older lady from Wicked and clone them. Everyone would be far too afraid to even think about a cell phone if there were 20 of them in each theater.

[BOM]

Posted: 9/18/15 at 12:58am

Personally I am on AT&T's service, But i've never had problems with them. This ad was distasteful, but at the same time it shouldn't reflect the company as a whole. 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/18/15 at 1:01am

I've had AT&T since about 1994 and I've also worked in advertising. This shows a problem with AT&T approving it thoughtlessly and too many people at BBDO doing the same thing, or someone at either one not speaking up for any multitude of reasons. It wasn't like I was going to change my service over this, but I do hope that it has at least made them think a little harder about the context of the individual ads in their campaign roll-outs.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 9/18/15 at 7:21am

PatrickDennis92 said: "and yes, I agree Patti's sassy crabby cranky attitude is totally her-- but it shouldn't delight us at the expense of her well-being. I think she's really letting this get to her. Like it used to be funny. Now I think she cries in her dressing room."

Since Patti isn't on Twitter OR in the country at the moment, I assumed someone reached out to her with a request for her opinion. Of course, she could've ignored it or said "Leave me alone, I'm in Ireland," but we know she has strong opinions and is going to take an invitation to express them. Besides, Patti's been ranting about the decline of our public manners since she used to write the Ramblings from the Road on her website.

 

I was thinking that your comment is not dissimilar to comments I've read about how much Patti complains about Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sunset Boulevard. I'm sure there have been times when she's brought it up, but I've also read and seen so many interviews with her with questions or prompts like "So let's talk about your experience with Sunset Boulevard" or "Would you say Sunset Boulevard was the worst experience of your professional life?" If you invite someone with strong opinions like Patti to discuss their opinions, they are absolutely going to take you up on that. People give her platforms because they know she is going to accept.

 

Updated On: 9/18/15 at 07:21 AM

[PatrickDennis92]

Posted: 9/18/15 at 2:55pm

And perhaps you are right about that; I could be over-interpreting her opinions. But that's the beauty of these boards. I am merely expressing my own perspective. I know I have, and have always had (lifelong attribute) an extremely progressive view toward conflict. I take an admittedly intellectual approach to these matters, which isn't for everyone. I'm at peace with people being who they are. I think we have a social obligation to educate people, but we also have an instinct that allows us to influence others to be more closely guided by our own ideas of right, wrong, etc. This is indeed too large a discussion for this thread, or perhaps anywhere, but I do think the outer most principals are relevant. People are behaving in a way we don't like, so let's fix it. All problems can be solved. And if they aren't solved now, then we aren't doing it the right way. This is an absolute fact, but is always a tough pill to swallow. People say we're doing all we can, and can do no more, but until it works, the plan is an ineffective failure. Recognizing this is not always easy; if you're spoiling for a fight, this position isn't for you. I, myself, am in a different place and my feelings coincide. Not everyone will share those feelings. Patti obviously doesn't. And many here don't either. And that's fine. But our kinsmen across the aisle on this issue will either overtake the industry as we know it, or we can wake up and realize that we should be smarter about how he handle it. We will not, repeat, will not, win this battle by complaining or doing what we are doing now.

Posted: 9/18/15 at 3:37pm

They may have pulled the online ad, but I am still seeing the AT&T TV commercial (which sounds like it's narrated by Steve Carell) where they show someone watching football at the "ballet you didn't want to go to."

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/20/15 at 5:40pm

 

Oh, for crap's sake.

 

 VIDEO: AT&T Promotes Theatre Disrespect in Another Ad

[Broadway kid 2]

Posted: 9/22/15 at 10:55pm

This Is absolutly ridiculous at@t should find some other way to promote there deal with direct like putting ads in playbills or sponsoring show not telling people watch tv during the theater that is what the theater is for not to watch tv but to enjoy a live event