It didn’t really occur to me at the time that there’d be much ado about the Leno-Letterman-Oprah ad, but it seems to be getting some debate time. Seems pretty inside-baseball to me, but the debate keeps coming up – was this a smart move for NBC. As far as I’m concerned, funny is funny. But there’s enough discussion out there for me to ask the LR Faithful – was this a good move for NBC or not?
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I'd say it was a win-win. Yeah the spot was promoting Letterman, but Leno got his face on the most watched TV show ever….
This was a great deal for everybody involved. If one of your anchors suggested a similar idea for a promo with an anchor from a competing station, how fast would the naysayers in the station rise up to scream it down? As fast as the same naysayers rose up to oppose a station website/Facebook page/Twitter account, etc. – that is, if the naysayers are still in the biz.
I think it was a great move by Letterman/CBS & Leno/NBC. I thought the ad was the funniest aired during the Super Bowl, and was one of the funniest things Leno has down in sometime. Inside baseball, sure — my kids didn't get it — but they're not the target audience for late night TV, yet. It showed they both could laugh at themselves, and it generated buzz, not a bad thing for either show. It won't stop the audience erosion that all network TV is experiencing, but it certainly gives adults a reason to talk about Letterman, Leno and their shows. (Check out http://bit.ly/aNj806).
The real question is: what does Oprah get from appearing with Letterman in a second Letterman/Super Bowl commercial (as she did in 2007)? I'd say funny is funny, and that doesn't hurt.
Why didn't you find a source to post it from? I can barely remember it!