Is Scott Phillips turning into Bob Villa?

[Mark L.]

Greetings All, I was just watching "The American Woodshop" and noticed something. In this particular episode, Scott is building an entertainment center out of plywood. During the assembly he used Gorilla Glue to glue up the carcass. Although never mentioned by name, the glue bottle was hard to miss in most of the shots. Even after he was finished dispensing said glue, it was sitting fairly prominently in the foreground. He didn't moisten either of the pieces being glued, I thought moisture cures the poly. I'm just wondering if he used poly just as an excuse to give it air time on his show. After all, he does hawk Gorilla Glue. Besides that, I still like his show. Mark L.

[loutent]

Hi Mark,

I enjoy watching all this stuff - including Scott. Unfortunately, our local PBS does not carry it anymore.

I think that showing products on these shows is fine - TOH, NYW, Home Again etc - they all do it. I just wish PBS would get over the fund drive thing and stick commercials in like everyone else. As it is now, they give you 3 - 5 minutes of commercials/self promotion on either end of a show anyhow.

It is always somewhat amusing to see some of the "do-it-yourself" shows on HGTV (don't get DIY) where they have duct tape over the product name on every glue bottle, paint can, etc. Not giving anything away free there.

Lou

[J. Clarke]

While Gorilla Glue is moisture cure, like nearly all single-component non water-borne polyurethane products, it generally gets enough moisture out of the wood to cure--the moistening of the surfaces is precautionary, not mandatory, in most cases.

[Chuck Hoffman]

It's not surprising to me that Gorilla Glue should be one of Scott Phillips' primary sponsors...they're in Cincinnati and the American Woodshop is located in Piqua, OH, which is not that far away.

[Mike at American Sycamore]

Hey Mark, Welcome to the real world. How in the heck do you think this program gets on the air? Money $$$$$$ It is always about the dollar. so yes Scott must promote his sponsors! Big deal! Get over it! It is a great program and worth a little "spam". just MHO Mike

[Mark L.]

[Dan]

On Sun 05 Dec 2004 02:58:09p, [e-mail] (Mike at American Sycamore) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

How's that stress management class comin' along, Mike?

:-)

BOY, I wish I could get the Madison WI PBS to carry that show. They weren't running any woodworking shows at all for a while, then they started Norm and Woodwright shop for a while. Just long enough for me to get the recorder set up for weekly taping. Then they put Woodwright on hiatus for a couple months and move Norm to Sunday. Sigh.

[Mike at American Sycamore]

Dan, Sorry to sound so harsh. I just feel very passionate about this subject. It is a great program and most people have no idea how much it cost to produce and Scott has to make a living. Without sponsors we would have no program. I have known Scott for years, he is a wonderful, kind, energetic person and he certainly has paid his dues. So if he has to kiss a little sponsor butt so be it, his program is worth it. Good luck, Mike

[Charlie Self]

Mike states:

I've known Scott for quite a while, too, and totally agree with you. He's one of the nicest "personalities" I've ever met.

That said, it is NOT "kissing butt" as you phrase it to show a sponsor's product. It's plain common sense. Use the product; if it works well feature it and mention how it works. If it doesn't work well, mention that, too (I'm not sure that TV shows do this part). But it's a quid pro quo, and is similar to your boss paying you for work. You don't spit in his hand when you get the check (even if you'd like to). AKA "common sense."

Charlie Self "Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." Edgar Bergen, (Charlie McCarthy)

[TeamCasa]

I think it has something to do with Canada. A Canadian company filmed a comercial on my property a few years ago. They took great effort to block out all other trade names and signs in any shot. They went so far as placing trees on the sidewalks to blot out a Hertz car rental sign that could not frame out in one shot.

Dave