The Night of The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Feeling the holiday cheer?

Well there is nothing to get you into the festive cheer than the great classic holiday favorites. With less than 2 weeks until the big holiday, I am definitely in the holiday cheer...

With all of this merriment, you may have seen a plethora of holiday perennial classics such as Frosty the Snowman, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Miracle on 34h Street, A Diva's Christmas Carol (Not really a classic - I just like the way it sounds), A Charlie Brown Christmas (My personal favorite), and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Ah, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - remember this animated classic?

Admittedly, when I was little I used to cry every time watching this one...Frankly, the thought of Christmas being cancelled due to bad weather was simply heart wrenching when I was a 6 year old (If you have seen the show, this horrific thought will make more sense). Now as an adult, I have not seen the show in years and the last time I had seen the program, I do recall smiling during the entire show.

Snap to 2007: The Models vs. The Red-Nosed Reindeer
So here we are today and it appears that you still like holiday programs as last week CBS aired Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Rudolph's ratings (Over 14 million viewers) literally trounced the ratings for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which also ran on CBS (two hours later) with 7 million viewers, (Roughly 14 million to 7 million viewers).

The point being, Rudolph and company received double the ratings of the models sashaying down the runway in their underwear.

Quality Family Entertainment
So what does it all mean? First, it is possible that families still get together and watch quality entertainment (That's encouraging news). Rudolph has been around since 1964, I wonder if people (Meaning families) have been watching it since then? I know that I had watched the show for at least a couple of decades.

And just what about the models? Maybe it is possible that viewers are just simply not all that interested in watching models parade around in underwear (Albeit Victoria's Secret) and fake angel wings...

According to reports, the VS show had gains this year over last (more than 7% - thanks to the Spice Girls). However ratings for the show have been declining every year since the original debut on ABC in 2001 (Over 12 million viewers back then).

Perhaps viewers just are not that interested in watching a show about nothing but underwear?

Right, I mean just what exactly is that intriguing about watching a lengthy infomercial disguised as runway fashion show for under garments? Oh, and just in case you were wondering what to buy your wife/girlfriend, why not purchase some lingerie as featured here on the world's leading supermodels...

Having said, my question is who is the target audience for this show?

You might be quick to conclude male. However upon a visit to the store, it is highly unlikely that you will ever see a male shopping in a Victoria's Secret store....At least, not that I have noticed and believe me - Here's some free advice to men, you would definitely get noticed in Victoria's Secret store! Okay, so they must be shopping...online. Would we ever see a Calvin Klein "Boxers or Briefs" fashion show with male models? I am merely suggesting equal time (You see, another great idea).

Now, I am not implying that every show on television have relevance (Obviously that would be biting the hand that feeds), simply stating that when I feel like shopping (Which is a daily affliction) - I am not watching television.

Here's a thought, what if every retailer had their own show - we would not be in the store buying merchandise, we would be at home watching television (This is far from Rocket Science).

Which leads me in precarious thought to provide more free advice: Play Your Special IN THE STORE, not on a national television network where the results may be subject to marginal impact (Marketing 101: match the right message with the right vehicle).

Yeah, I will wait for the next broadcast of Rudolph....Happy Holidays.



*The photo image "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1964) featuring the voice of Burl Ives is provided by CBS/ Classic Media.