This past weekend I persuaded 3 of my friends to join me for a Television Preview screening. I'd received 4 "free" tickets in the mail to come to one of our local hotels, watch a couple of un-debuted shows, and respond to surveys regarding the shows and commercials. Being a bit of a TV junkie, I got excited. (I'm a geek on so many levels...and I wonder why I'm still single) Being a marketing professional, I realize how much weight is put on this type of audience data.
To make sure the evening wasn't a complete bust, we had dinner first, where my friends found joy in asking me if we were all going to be sold a timeshare, get chips installed in our necks, or be gassed. My response was..."whatever happens, at least I have some good blog content..."
So as not to appear too "geek-ish", I told them we shouldn't arrive before the doors open. But, much to my surprise, when we got there shortly after the doors opened, there was a line! Whew, I'm not the only geek in town. The emcee (or is that MC?) instructed us that we would be seated by our group and to follow the instructions (my friends' final opportunity to gig me about getting gassed). We were seated in a circular format and began filling out our surveys in regards to our product preferences. I didn't know the world had so many toothpaste options!
The two shows we watched were "Soulmates" and "Rescue Party." The first show, "Soulmates" starred some chick from this past season of "24" and was a time travel/romance/mystery weekly drama. We got the condensed 25 minute version, so the plot was a little choppy. It was a so-so drama, but better suited for a "movie of the week" - which was one of the survey questions I got to answer.
The second show was "Rescue Party" - a reality show where you have 24 hours to plan a party on a small budget. My friend, Kevin, who was one of my victims, um, er, attendees, deplores reality tv. The greatest thing for him was the ability to write on his survey "Please let reality tv die!" Although I enjoy reality tv, this show was a loser. There are already too many "makeover - party - food" reality shows that this one didn't hold my attention. And, it seems that was the consensus of the room. We had a power surge and had to start over and the crowd wasn't too happy about that.
Overall, it wasn't a bad night. I got to have an enjoyable dinner with friends, free opportunity to watch unseen television shows, and a lifetime of ridicule from my faithful friends.
2 comments:
It definitely was an overall fun experience...however, the phone call I got on monday...trying to probably sell me a time share...that i couldnt get her to let me get off the phone while i was at work...was kind of irritating though.
Who answers their cell phone during a conference call? :) I got the missed call too, but they've never called back...good times!
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