If you want real entertainment, watch HGTV with me.
Especially where we watch as a kitchen is gutted and custom everything is added. "Why, yes, home viewer -- we removed a bearing wall, and two interior walls, added top custom cabinets, a 20' glass bar top, 4" thick marble tops, and a 4' x 8' soapstone island top, designer pendant lights, a stone and hewn planked flooring in a diagonal two-step pattern, plus added a 5-foot designer mosiac tile backsplash of the Vatican hand-pieced by the artist over a 3-month period!"
Beautiful. Ooo. Ahh.
"The total amount of the remodel was $ 40,000.00."
Bull. Pucky.
The first couple times this happened, I jumped off the couch, yelling and shaking my fists at the poor, innocent television screen. (Because, you know, they can hear and see you out in TV land. *rolls eyes*)
There's no way the producers would pay for a $160,000.00 kitchen, which would be a truer cost for the example above. The secret is that the supplier gets advertising in return for supplying the products for FREE.
Except it's not called advertising; it's called "product placement." I know; I used to be in television. That's how I flew first-class to Malaysia in return for 15-seconds at the end of a television show I was working on: "Flight considerations were supplied by xxx Airlines, the leader in blahblahblah.'"
It's a standard industry practice from television to movies, although sometimes, the shows are paid in cash. That special polish or great bottle of wine didn't appear in the background by accident. (Usually if the label is turned away from the camera, whether it's in a movie or on TV, you can bet no promotional dollars exchanged hands.)
But here's the thing: as much as I appreciate all HGTV has done for the remodeling industry, my pet peeve is the lack of a disclaimer: "We got the materials through a deal with the suppliers, but we won't bother you with that. Or, at least, you should understand what we mean when we say, 'Cabinetry was supplied by xxx, a leader in blahblahblah.' "
Which I don't mind, IF an average viewer understands what's implied by mentioning a brand name in the first place. But most people don't, and that does a disservice both to you, the consumer, and the people who will be working for you. Out here in "reality land", I'm pretty resigned to explaining that prices on HGTV aren't real.
What I'd like to see is the producers saying, "If you had to buy this, it would cost anywhere from..." but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Now you know. If a price seems too good to be true, it usually is.
I can't get product placement for you unless you're Julia Roberts, and not even then, unless I could get the finished kitchen into Architectural Digest or on TV. (Another reason why stars get so many things for free -- people want to buy what the stars have, but the company supplying the free xxx needs to have the product shown to Joe Public.)
And that's my 2 cents for the day.
