Out of Scope Issue 93: HBO or HB-No More Shows?
Plus: Kyrsten Sinema. Senator. Side Hustler.
This week was one of reflection at Hirsch Leatherwood. Our team was all in one place: New York. Our in-person team meetings and client calls covered key wins and challenges throughout the year that was. In the same spirit, publications from Adweek to Vogue captured news and marketing moments throughout 2022 that made us gasp, think, and think while gasping. As we take a beat over the holidays (editor’s note: Out of Scope will pause publication between now and January 6th), we’re optimistic about 2023 regardless of the existentia and headlines to come. And we can’t thank you enough for reading—onward and upward!
💡ON OUR MINDS: The aftereffects of the Warner Media and Discovery+ merger
Westworld and The Nevers are among the several HBO Max shows that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced would be canceled and removed from the HBO Max platform. This marks the second wave of popular show cancellations since Warner Media completed their merger with Discovery+ in August.
For example, Minx was canceled with one week left of filming season 2. The decision was made in part of CEO David Zaslav's attempt to find $3.5 billion in cost-saving synergies during an August 2022 earnings call. The decision to cancel shows mid-production was met with criticism from fans online.
But onscreen and off, the show must go on. On Wednesday, the conglomerate announced “Celebrating Every Story,” a new campaign marking the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio. The celebration, which will continue throughout 2023, will include a documentary on the studio’s history, special TV programming, and live events in several cities.
While the campaign was likely developed far in advance, the announcement is well-timed to counter ongoing criticism from fans and creative professionals. We’ll be keeping an eye out for whether the cancellations and removals spell long-term trouble for WBD’s reputation, or this fresh wave of feel-good content makes for a crisis averted.
📡 ON OUR RADAR
Slate writer Christina Cauterucci discovered Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s active Facebook Marketplace side-hustle. Cauterucci went so far as to purchase an item from Sinema’s storefront: “a lightly used pair of Badgley Mischka heels,” to be exact. Sinema’s storefront expands far beyond stilettos featuring a treadmill, a stainless steel watch, puffer jackets, and more. The fact that Sinema moonlights as a frequent Facebook Marketplace seller adds another perplexing layer to her polarizing public persona.
Week after week, Elon Musk continues to shake things up at Twitter. The latest move is the introduction of the Twitter Blue (“off brand”) logo, the suspension of @elonjet, an account dedicated to tracking Musk’s private jet, along with the accounts of several high-profile journalists from CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan to The New York Times’ Ryan Mac. Between censoring the press and banning accounts left and right, many are questioning Elon’s commitment to free speech on Twitter—a platform that once embraced unfiltered opinions.
It’s Word of the Year season, and Dictionary.com is the latest to join the party by announcing “woman” as its 2022 pick. Putting Oxford’s left-field choice aside, the selection highlights a recent trend among the major dictionaries toward language that deals with identity and sensitive sociopolitical issues. The decision doubles as a handy reminder to communications professionals to choose their words carefully as definitions and connotations evolve.
Advertising took many forms from #sponcon to Superbowl ads in 2022. But a trend from the early days of digital re-emerged: breaking the fourth wall during an IRL marketing stunt. Most notably, the promotion for psychological horror film Smile took over online channels with the smile emoji and haunted just about every physical space from busy city streets to baseball games to Good Morning America with menacing grins in the near background of virtually every steadicam shot. Here’s to more (or less) of that in 2023.
Organizations are taking a look back at the year in corporate social responsibility, and there’s a surprising name on the winners list. Despite a controversial first quarter on the LBTQ-rights front, Disney has topped GLAAD’s latest studio responsibility report for its inclusion of queer characters in film. The report noted that while there’s work left to do, Disney’s LBTQ inclusion provided a much-needed reputational lift for the brand that faced significant internal and external criticism for its handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Airbnb is also taking steps to restore CSR credibility, releasing the latest data on accounts removed for violations of its nondiscrimination policy.
🥊QUICK HITS:
In case you missed these stories this week.
Earlier this week, Alabama and Utah became the latest U.S. states to prohibit TikTok on state government devices following national security concerns around data collection.
Former FTX CEO SBF was arrested and booked by police in the Bahamas this week. While the news hits keep coming, one thing is clear: with 2022 technology (mostly) powering 1980s white-collar crimes, this case is anything but straightforward.
Sometimes, the best marketing tactic is no tactic at all. From Mountain Dew to Liberty Mutual, brands are dropping the pretense and building trust. Lesson to marketing teams everywhere: don’t underestimate the value of direct communication.
We’ll see you here next year! 👋
HL
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