The Last Laugh

With the serious and grave publicity stunt that Cartoon Network had decided to pull in order to promote Aqua Teen Hunger Force, I felt that their course of action in rectifying the situation was appropriate. Instead of trying to displace responsibility or burying their heads in the sand, Cartoon Network took full responsibility for its actions and the head of Cartoon Network understood the consequences when announcing he felt it best if he stepped down. Cartoon Network recognized the legal implications of their actions and also anticipated the public fallout after they were discovered. Although many viewers of Cartoon Network would not have felt the incident was a reason to stop watching the network, CN still took the time to make sure that their public understood how apologetic they were and that the situation was now under control. Cartoon Network for sure will understand now the importance of keeping advertising legal and not misleading.

You Get Fleas

It's no surprise that Dog The Bounty Hunter received an enormous backlash at the inane racist comments he made back in 2007 when in a caustic conversation with his son he insulted his black girlfriend. So when the supporters and more importantly the advertisers that endorsed his eponymous show began backing out, so did the network, A&E. In light of being a black American myself, I will say that perhaps his comments were derogatory and his name fittingly suggests that he does have the mind of a canine, A&E probably would have fared better with the public if they had aired an episode that allowed Dog to address his concerns or opinions with his son as well as apologize for his comments. A&E is a fool if they think the public is just really going to "forget". Celebrities are losing favor with their public as at an even faster rate than before simply because of the powerful revealing light of social media. Nothing anyone says, does, writes, nowhere anyone goes, no matter who anyone tries to be, the speed at which information travels now hits the people before those celebrities even have a chance to try to cover it up. Then again, no matter what race we are, we all have said things about other races that are clearly tinged with our individual biases. Whether it's thinking all Black people eat chicken, all white people must have money, all hispanics are gardeners, or all asians do nails, we understand that these things aren't true. Often the people who cry "racist" aren't the people being talked about but the people who are afraid of what others will think of them.  I don't think A&E should have used the strategy they did to take him back, but at the same time they certainly should put a muzzle on this Dog.