PressEthic

NBC and the CW networks became “unwitting stealth marketing partners” with the Weinstein Co., producers of the recently released film, “Shut up and Sing,” according to an article printed Saturday in the Washington Post.

“Unwitting” is right. The timing and tactics the Weinstein Company used to position the networks against free speech were the creation of a very cunning marketing team that is generating controversy and a successful word-of-mouth promotional campaign.

“Shut up and Sing” is a documentary focused on the controversy that followed the Dixie Chicks, a popular country-western/pop group, after the lead singer said she was ashamed President Bush was from her home state of Texas at a 2003 concert. The incident sparked a media firestorm pitting the group against Bush supporters, fans and other musicians. Fans threw away CDs in public displays of opposition and ultimately, the lead singer received death threats.

The documentary was released this weekend to only four theaters nationwide, with a larger, national opening planned on November 10. The Weinstein Co. submitted a 30-second TV spot to networks promoting the film’s release. NBC and the CW refused the ads. NBC’s official response was that they, “cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush." CW said the network did “not have appropriate programming in which to schedule this spot."

Weinstein fired back accusing both networks of being unsupportive of free speech.

"In an Ironic Twist of Events, NBC and the CW Television Networks Refuse to Air Ads for Documentary Focusing on Freedom of Speech."

"It's a sad commentary about the level of fear in our society that a movie about a group of courageous entertainers who were blacklisted for exercising their right of free speech is now itself being blacklisted by corporate America," bemoaned Weinstein Co. co-chairman Harvey Weinstein.

"The idea that anyone should be penalized for criticizing the president is sad and profoundly un-American," he added.

According to NBC and the CW, Weinstein’s media blitz and accusations against them are flat-out wrong.

"While a spot was submitted to our broadcast standards and practices department for review and was rejected because it violated our policy of not broadcasting ads that deal with issues of public controversy, the Weinstein Company did not make a national media buy for 'Shut Up & Sing,' nor did anyone from the company inquire about buying time on the network," NBC said. CW, which values brevity, merely said for the record that the Weinstein news release is "flat-out inaccurate. The whole matter is a mystery to The CW."

The editors at Washington Post were smart to respond to this story in a column by TV writer Lisa de Moraes. This format allowed her to insert commentary on how Weinstein Co. twisted the situation to promote their film.

When a small movie like this one gets a very limited release -- just four theaters this weekend -- with the intention of going wide after that, word of mouth is critical and that's when you often see stealth marketing campaigns, such as whipping the media into a froth over some angle on the flick to generate millions in free publicity. (The movie opens nationwide Nov. 10.)

The film has received millions of dollars in free advertising. A search for the story on Google News found 305 articles in media outlets ranging from the New York Times to entertainment-based mediums like E! News.