STRIKE COVERAGE: Adult Swim Spot Riffs on Writers' Strike
Cartoon Network Bumper Tries to Assure Late-Night Viewers that Strike Won't Affect Programming
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/9/2007 5:54:00 PM
As the Writers Guild of America strike dragged on, Turner Broadcasting System’s Cartoon Network sought to poke fun at the situation while assuring viewers that its programming won’t be affected.
The network created a bumper that ran during its late-night, young-male-targeted Adult Swim block and referenced popular video game "World of Warcraft," which features guilds of wizards (not writers).
Set to opera music, the bumper displays a simple message, in white text against black screen, from someone identified as “unspeakably violent.”
“Dear Adult Swim,” the message reads. “I am very concerned about the upcoming Writer’s [sic] Guild of America strike. How does a WGA strike affect Adult Swim?”
The network’s tongue-in-cheek answer: “Guild strike? Hey do you have any cheat codes for Warcraft? Seriously. We need them for wizarding. [adult swim.]”
The promo is one in a series of nightly bumpers intended to create an ongoing dialogue with viewers, who are invited to post online question that are then answered in the interstitials.
The joke in this case, a network spokesperson said, was intended to make it clear that since most TV animators are not part of the WGA, Adult Swim’s content won’t be much affected by the strike.
Click here to watch the clip.
For full coverage of the strike, click here.
