Of course, the Super Bowl halftime performance is an interesting phenomenon in the musical world. It’s one of the highest honors to be the main attraction during the halftime of any Super Bowl – and only major acts are ever considered to perform. But it’s also one of the least followed performances for viewers at home. Obviously, the fans attending the Super Bowl are basically getting a mini-concert in addition to the biggest football game of the year – so it makes sense from their side.
But the hundreds of millions of viewers around the world are largely disinterested in the halftime entertainment. It’s during that time, especially in the U.S., when viewers step away from the television for refreshments or conversations with friends. At least, that’s usually the case when the performers are along the lines of The Who, The Boss or The Stones. With Madonna as the halftime act, expect many female viewers of the Super Bowl to be especially interested in how Madge looks and what she brings to the table in terms of her song selection and stage presence.
The NFL knows what it’s doing when it comes to managing the entertainment value of its product. Bringing Madonna and Sole Circque duil into the mix for Super Bowl XLVI ensures that they’re going to get a much stronger return on their halftime investment than they have in recent years.
The cannonball tore through two homes, leaving huge holes, and eventually came to rest inside a mini-van. It is estimated that the cannonball was traveling 1000 feet per second as it ripped through the homes. No injuries have been reported, but the filming of Mythbusters has been put on hold pending an investigation into the accident.
At this point, Discovery has not issued a comment about the incident, but local police are continuing their investigation. It will be interesting to see how Mythbusters and Discovery address the issue. Generally, the cast of the show seem like they would be agreeable to some self-deprecating review of the incident, assuming no one was negligent in the firing of the cannon.
Of course, given the potential liabilities involved for both the show, the network and the firing range itself, legal advisers may suggest burying the episode altogether and quietly addressing the issue with the families affected.
Apparently, Lowe’s has pulled its ads from All-American Muslim after the company received e-mails from a Christian group in Florida. The Florida Family Association stood in open opposition to the show, describing it as “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”
What is surprising is how quickly the group was able to get Lowe’s to make such a radical and public change in its advertising. Understandably, Lowe’s would have to be concerned about alienating a group of Christian Conservatives based in the South. But overtly changing their advertising based on statements that are clearly based in prejudice and hate seems to be an egregious public relations misstep on the part of Lowe’s management.
Lowe’s has confirmed that it pulled its advertising from All-American Muslim, based largely on the e-mails it received from the Florida Family Association. “Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views,” the Lowe’s statement said. “As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance.”
That statement really doesn’t address anything, other than an indication that Lowe’s values radical Christian consumers over Muslim consumers.