More Mistaken Identities
More Mistaken Identities Makes for More Fun TV by Roxanne McDonald
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If one of the aims of “Identity” is to further branding and promotion for shows, so far the odds are not all that favorable. |
If one of the aims of “Identity” is to further branding and promotion for shows, so far the odds are not all that favorable.
The odds are against using recognition by a contestant as a way to increase viewership of any particular show, so if “Identity” producers have agreed to take on recognizables to advertise, promote, or enhance increase viewer numbers, the strategy may have backfired?
Okay, I understand that 1) being at home and being able to make all the right guesses or give all the best answers is a phenomenon that evaporates, evidently, the minute you step on stage of the actual game show; and 2) not everyone is as addicted to and consumed by
television— which in my case is on every minute I am conscious.
I have already spoken to how one player didn’t recognize Bruce Jenner; another had no idea who the celebrity stylist Jonathan Antin was. But the missed opportunities continued in the latest installment of Identity, when Craigslist creator, Craig Newmark was mistaken for “possibly” an undertaker’s apprentice, for instance, just get too depressing to watch.
Thank the lord for friends and family who are allowed to join in after a couple of rounds, for at least, for another example, the creator of Tae Bo, Billy Blanks, and the creator of Microsoft Word, Richard Brodie, were identified. [The support team knew Blanks; but they helped their friend i.d. Brodie by critical thinking/process of elimination, finding that he was the only one old enough to have created MS Word.]
Anyway, I love the show, love the host, and love the line-up of strangers and identities to be matched. Here is the latest episode’s list (for two contestants):
Missionary
Craig from Craigslist
X-Games Biker
Jerry Springer’s Security Guard (Steve Wilkos)
Creator of Tae Bo (Billy Blanks)
Podiatrist
Dinosaur Cleaner
Preschool Teacher
Scream Queen
Celebrity Magazine Editor
Arrested Three Times (for protesting)
Grammy Award Winner
Pussycat Doll (Jessica Sutta)
Speed Talker
Had Nose Job
Been on Wheaties Box (Mary Lou Retton)
Created MS Word (Brodie)
Perfect SAT Score
Eats Bugs
Jaime Kennedy
Repo Man
Speaks Vietnamese
Mortician’s Apprentice
Pig Farmer
Like subliminal advertising that cannot coerce someone into buying something unless they already have an interest, seeing someone on “Identity” likely does not sway a viewer to watch the show that person is featured in or on. But it is still fascinating crossover stuff, anyway. And while it’s impressive how a contestant can figure out a stranger who eats bugs by doing a discerning deductive process of sorts, it is still a little bit pitiful when the gamer can’t identify somebody like the Beav.
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