Nurse Jackie

[DToTheJ]

For those who may not be aware, one of the stars of "The Sopranos" found something new to do since the show went off the air. The series begins its second season on the Showtime network this week.

While I could care less about how acclaimed the show may be, its advertising campaign leaves a lot to be desired. For instance, last year, to promote the debut of the show, you saw print ads with Edie Falco holding a needle with the tagline, "Life is full of little pricks"... get it? This year, print ads give her the "godly" treatment, showing her holding a medicine bottle under the tagline, "Holy shift." Gee, I can't wait to see what the big tagline is for the show's return next year, should it make it that far. "Holy shift?" How juvenile can you get? No wonder HBO beats Showtime like a drum.

 

[quadraphonic]

Same geniuses wrote that advertising that write the "all but cuss words" for animated movies like Madagascar. [One character: "What the ?" no pause Second character: "Hello, student! Let me see your as-signment" that kind of repartee I mean]

 

[BRNout]

I've seen the billboards around town with the posed/airbrushed photos of Edie Falco with a weird evil look on her face, surrounded by a halo of (from what I can see) prescription bottles, pills and razor blades(?). The graphic designer clearly didn't think about the idea that billboards are often hard to see when driving and need to be easily read and understood in the blink of an eye. The color of the "holy shift" in white on light blue meant that I'd seen about a half-dozen of those billboards before I could actually read that. Basically because I was sitting in traffic and had the time.

The campaign makes the show come off as some weird production with hints of the unfunny portions of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". Basically, it doesn't look appealing and I won't be wasting my time by tuning in.

 

[LKellerIII]

I've seen the billboards around town with the posed/airbrushed photos of Edie Falco with a weird evil look on her face, surrounded by a halo of (from what I can see) prescription bottles, pills and razor blades(?). The graphic designer clearly didn't think about the idea that billboards are often hard to see when driving and need to be easily read and understood in the blink of an eye. The color of the "holy shift" in white on light blue meant that I'd seen about a half-dozen of those billboards before I could actually read that. Basically because I was sitting in traffic and had the time.

The campaign makes the show come off as some weird production with hints of the unfunny portions of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". Basically, it doesn't look appealing and I won't be wasting my time by tuning in.

Depends on your taste. It's not for everybody, but I like it. The show is definitely pushing the envelope (it is a pay cable production, after all), the writing is first rate, and Falco is an exceptional actress. I don't even pay for Showtime, but I rented the first season (2 DVDs) from NetFlix.

The main limitation is - it's only a half-hour show and for some reason, they feel obligated to put in stereotypical comedic elements - like the cliche pompous and self-important hospital administrator. How many times have we seen that before?

Still, though - worth watching, in my opinion.

 

[DToTheJ]

And that's another beef I have with that show - is it just me, or does the white-font-on-red-background for the logo of the show look strikingly similar to the Monopoly logo (sans the giant pill in lieu of the "I", of course)?

 

[FreddyE1977]

For those who may not be aware, one of the stars of "The Sopranos" found something new to do since the show went off the air. The series begins its second season on the Showtime network this week.

While I could care less about how acclaimed the show may be, its advertising campaign leaves a lot to be desired. For instance, last year, to promote the debut of the show, you saw print ads with Edie Falco holding a needle with the tagline, "Life is full of little pricks"... get it? This year, print ads give her the "godly" treatment, showing her holding a medicine bottle under the tagline, "Holy shift." Gee, I can't wait to see what the big tagline is for the show's return next year, should it make it that far. "Holy shift?" How juvenile can you get? No wonder HBO beats Showtime like a drum.

There was another print ad where she held a large hypodermic needle pointing upwards from her fist, so as to make it look like she was giving you the finger. Class act all the way! I do not subscribe to Showtime and this is certainly not convincing me.

 

[Silkie]

In other words, not programming for the more refined among us who engage in higher intellectual pursuits.

 

[LKellerIII]

In other words, not programming for the more refined among us who engage in higher intellectual pursuits.

I figure your tongue was in your cheek, but remember that the biggest trend in TV dramas for both basic and pay cable the last few years have been stories about anti-heros:

Nurse Jackie (SHO) - a drug addicted RN who cheats on her husband to get drugs from the hospital pharmacist, lying to both men.

United States of Tara (SHO) About a mother suffering from multiple personality disorder who makes the lives of her husband and children very challenging.

Dexter (SHO) - a serial killer who works for the police dept. He only kills bad people, though

Breaking Bad (AMC)- About a high school chemistry teacher who becomes a crystal-meth manufacturer and dealer to pay for his cancer treatments.

Mad Men (AMC)- The hero is the charming, but selfish and cheating (on his wife) advertising man in the early 1960s, who is also a coward - he stole the identity of a fallen fellow soldier to escape fighting the Korean War.

The Shield - the long running FX series about a group of crooked cops who steal and commit murder to get ahead.

Rescue Me - the long running FX series about a selfish, lying, cheating, and generally out of control fire fighter for the FDNY.

The Sopranos (HBO) - About a violent and dysfunctional mafia family.

Need I go on? The problem is, all of these series are well written, well-acted, and generally very compelling to watch.

 

[Silkie]

Sounds like a daily reality show up the road where a money grub goes about openly declaring herself a swinger, telling people that some woman's husband shared pillow talk so that his wife would be her friend and they could all change partners together. But I digress. I don't watch those programs, just as I do not associate with idiots like the chickie up the road. In short, I am particular about who and what I have into my home.

 

[DToTheJ]

... last year, to promote the debut of the show, you saw print ads with Edie Falco holding a needle with the tagline, "Life is full of little pricks"... get it? ...

There was another print ad where she held a large hypodermic needle pointing upwards from her fist, so as to make it look like she was giving you the finger. Class act all the way!

Now that I think about it, this was the same ad I was referring to earlier. Thanks for the reminder, Freddy. Totally forgot about that.

 

[justpassingthough]

In other words, not programming for the more refined among us who engage in higher intellectual pursuits.

I figure your tongue was in your cheek, but remember that the biggest trend in TV dramas for both basic and pay cable the last few years have been stories about anti-heros:

Nurse Jackie (SHO) - a drug addicted RN who cheats on her husband to get drugs from the hospital pharmacist, lying to both men.

United States of Tara (SHO) About a mother suffering from multiple personality disorder who makes the lives of her husband and children very challenging.

Dexter (SHO) - a serial killer who works for the police dept. He only kills bad people, though

Breaking Bad (AMC)- About a high school chemistry teacher who becomes a crystal-meth manufacturer and dealer to pay for his cancer treatments.

Mad Men (AMC)- The hero is the charming, but selfish and cheating (on his wife) advertising man in the early 1960s, who is also a coward - he stole the identity of a fallen fellow soldier to escape fighting the Korean War.

The Shield - the long running FX series about a group of crooked cops who steal and commit murder to get ahead.

Rescue Me - the long running FX series about a selfish, lying, cheating, and generally out of control fire fighter for the FDNY.

The Sopranos (HBO) - About a violent and dysfunctional mafia family.

Need I go on? The problem is, all of these series are well written, well-acted, and generally very compelling to watch.

The anti-hero certainly has been a popular theme on TV, as of late, but lets remember that literature was full of anti-heros for centuries. TV just finally caught on with more realistic portrayals of humanity, instead of filling the airwaves with trite and unrealistic portraits of the American family (Leave It to Beaver, the Brady Bunch).

 

[FreddyE1977]

I loved The Sopranos and find Breaking Bad to be a compelling series.

My problem is not with the strong content but with the very crude ad campaign
that was used to promote this show.

 

[LKellerIII]

I loved The Sopranos and find Breaking Bad to be a compelling series.

My problem is not with the strong content but with the very crude ad campaign
that was used to promote this show.

I understood your point, and I don't disagree. However, it's not surprising that shows that "push the envelope" (so to speak) are advertised in tasteless or crude ways. It's too bad that the people creating the ads don't spend more time talking to the people that created the show.

I know we've all had the experience of reading a novel that turns out to have absolutely nothing to do with the "teaser" blurb on the back cover.

 

[DToTheJ]

... Gee, I can't wait to see what the big tagline is for the show's return next year, should it make it that far...

Well, I guess the above will indeed be the case: Just one episode into its second season, Showtime has already greenlighted "Nurse Jackie" for a third season:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/ar...s_Nurse_Jackie_The_United_States_Of_Tara_.php

Okay... let's start taking bets on what brilliant tagline will be featured in the ad campaign of the show's third season... "On The Pill?" "Money Shot?" "Doc Suc..."

 

[DToTheJ]

I find this ad very interesting:
http://s0.2mdn.net/viewad/2577417/300x250_042310_CHSI_Acq_3X_5OFF_KINETIC_PZ2_Save+120.jpg

It's a Verizon promotion for a package including DirecTV, with the headline, "Designed for Your Family."

On the HDTV screen in the banner ad is the "Nurse Jackie" character, in the same "holy" pose in the current ad campaign, sans the "Holy shift" tagline.

Makes you wonder why they didn't promote their FiOS with this show.

 

[Silkie]

Takes the fun out of dysfunctional

 

[DToTheJ]

Well, the third season of the show is scheduled to debut, and of course, to mark the occasion, Showtime has another ad blitz going. Though I was a little surprised that they didn't go near the envelope this time, let alone push it.

The ads promoting Season 3 show Edie Falco sitting atop prescription drug bottles, stacked to appear as if they were constructing a building (there is a background drop with clouds and a helicopter in the sky).

The tagline for this ad? "High and mighty."

Clever! But a far, far cry from "Holy shift." I wonder if SHO's promotions department has been hearing from the PTC. :

 

[Silkie]

Still pretty much reflects what I consider to be what real nurses are - aside from being filthy people in general (which might be from having to be antiseptic all shift long).