Culture Box
Wait a minute, did we get this straight. Did GT&T publicize the finals of the jingle and song competition this year as slated for July 23 at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) and then unashamedly announce a second final?
What in the name of Jiminy Cricket is going on here and why has there been no public outrage over being duped. History has taught us that publicity stunts such as these have a way of setting trends.
Sure enough the evening was beautiful and has helped us realize that every last one of those finalists are good, but how is this acceptable? There is a clear distinction between a concert and the final leg of a competition.
GT&T had a responsibility to advertise the NCC show as a concert and not trumpet, ‘Finals!’ all over the television. Basically, they built up our hopes and remained silent as our faces and hopes fell flat on the floor.
The last time we checked, a final is a final nothing comes after that. Just ask Adam Lambert who lost to Kris Allen on American Idol this year and he’ll tell you. If there had been a grand old finale the superbly talented Lambert might have been judged on the quality of his voice and not his then veiled sexual orientation.
Where was the prior announcement from GT&T that plans were afoot to stretch the competition for as long as possible while soaking up the tremendous public response? Guess business is business and there is obligation to play fair.
And what does fair have to do with it anyway when the competition is a huge hit and the public will grab a ticket and hop along for as long as the company wants without complaining.
Perhaps the company is of the opinion that public interest in the competition is so high that it can easily pull a stunt and get away with it. The fuss is all about Michael Thompson and Calvin Burnett, Annece Hicks and Malika Boyd right, so why worry about a little stunt huh? The people are interested in Ashley John, Raoule Samuels and Pheona Da Silva not the fact that the company pulled a fast one on us.
Honestly, we didn’t see the GT&T stunt coming. Here is one of the nation’s most respected corporate entities which prided itself over the years of the competition on being true to its word, not delivering a winner on the night as promised.
Remembered when we tuned in to the National Communications Network (NCN) to watch Timeka Marshall blow the competition away, and when we assembled a year later at the NCC to watch Celeste David triumph but ended up witnessing a shock defeat? Just imagine tuning in and or showing up on either night with expectation and quiet fears and being told that night was not really the final.
The usual laid-back attitude of the public has benefited GT&T which is why after announcing a final the company can say later without any fear of hostile reactions that a grand finale is planned!
Somehow in this good old land of ours a grand finale comes after a final and that is where the 2009 winner would be named. So the many of us who turned up at the NCC expecting a winner will simply just have to wait. GT&T owes us an explanation and a solid one at that as to why the July 23 show concert was not advertised for what it was. And in the future the company needs to stick to its word.