The "Today" Show Violation of its Brand Promise is More Offensive than Borat -- Though Not as Funny
by Michael Mark
Matt Lauer's recent interview with Sacha Baron Cohen violated the "Today" show brand and in doing so violated a trust with his viewers. When Cohen, in his Borat character, answered Matt's question, "So why do you like Pamela Andersen?" with "She has the physique of a seven-year-old," that was inappropriate for the "Today" show and its audience.
Is there such a thing as appropriate for the "Today" show? Absolutely. It's the essence of what has made the show the morning staple it is, welcomed into millions of homes as individuals and families begin their day. The popular show offers a daily promise that may not be written or easily verbalized but is well understood and relied upon by viewers and advertisers. The "Today" show is a brand just like those created by P&G - it's just selected from the TV listings instead of competing on the shelf - and so it has definite values: it's balanced, family-oriented, lighthearted, positive, informative, current. But during the Lauer/Borat interview, the "Today" show -- in its effort to honor its promise to be 'current' -- did not honor its covenant of delivering family-oriented content.
Borat, a fictional character -- but a grown man nonetheless -- made a statement on network television that he, as an adult, finds a seven-year-old girl sexually attractive. There are laws in this country about such acts. Yet the interviewer laughed and went on as if the answer was "she is highly intelligent."
And should Borat's response have come as a surprise to the "Today" show (which it shouldn't have since the same statement is made in the movie, making Lauer part of the act and not a reporter - a big issue as the show considers itself a 'news' program), then the producers should have bleeped it out and not allowed into the living rooms, kitchens and homes of millions who understand the values of the "Today" show. The silent condoning of pedophilia isn't what one might call proper morning primetime network fare, amusing as Matt seemed to think it was. Sacha Cohen is a trickster. That is his shtick with Ali G and Bruno, his other creations. As Borat, he scammed the people in his movie (he's being sued by many in the film for tricking unsuspecting people into unwittingly signing releases, misrepresenting the intentions of their scenes, and not paying them fairly) and he scammed the media by playing his crude "R"-rated character on the "G"-rated "Today" show. Most grievously, the "Today" show let down its viewers by broadcasting a truly offensive comment - and not even addressing it afterwards in the case they truly were caught off-guard. When the media doesn't uphold its values, millions of people are affected. This is a great and serious responsibility. Many find the movie funny - I do, too, in parts - but that is not the point. Humor doesn't excuse the lack of oversight that the "Today" show and Matt Lauer exhibited.
Recently other public transgressions have been revealed and have had their consequences and apologies. Rupert Murdoch apologized for publishing the O.J. Simpson book, If I Did It, and pulled it from the shelves, calling it an 'ill conceived project' and agreeing "with the American public it was in bad taste." Michael Richards publicly apologized for his horrendous racial slurs during his comedy act gone wrong. Accidents will happen. But it's hard to believe the interview on the "Today" show was an accident considering the same question had been posed to Borat before and his answer had been the same each time. Just take a look at the You Tube videos. It has gone unwritten and unsaid but, perhaps, due to the blurring lines between entertainment and news, between marketing and content, an official statement and apology should be made by the 'Today' show so the broken trust can be mended between the brand and the viewers and standards can be reconfirmed, deterring further breeches of this sort by the media. So we all know just who we are allowing into our homes.
