19 hours ago, j swift said:

I hope that the discussion of P&G products doesn't dilute my point. 

If CBS creates a soap centered on Black characters, but still measures its success in terms of how many White women within the 25-49-year-old demographic tune in, then no real progress will have been made.  Because that would demonstrate that they still only value and respect the purchasing power of that audience. 

While one assumes that the ratings will be measured and reported similarly to any soap.  It will be instructive to watch how CBS markets the results of the audience it is trying to reach.  In other words, Y&R is still marketed as the most watched soap in daytime.  However, wouldn't it be refreshing if The Gates is promoted as having the largest audience of Black women in daytime, whose buying power has led to x amount of profit for P&G?

Only time will truly tell but with the involvement of the NAACP, I think, chances are the metrics will reflect the centering of Black women as viewers and consumers.

Edited March 27, 20241 yr by DramatistDreamer
Hours later, I’m reading this over & realized the two omitted words

18 hours ago, Darn said:

Listen, as long as it's not pancake mix, rice or ice cream I think I'll be happy.

I agree!

18 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

Lord don’t ask me why, but this just gave me a bad flashback to Darius McCrary’s Malcolm do nothing on Y&R except making his famous sandwiches all the time for months. 🙈

I'm surprised MAB didn't have him running an all-sandwich food truck, lol.

15 hours ago, Vee said:

(I always thought the ice cream business was a fun idea. 🤷‍♂️)

It is!  Or, it would've been.  To me, though, it was frustrating how the one, semi-wealthy African-American family on soaps had to run a bunch of Baskin-Robbins knockoffs while their white counterparts got to fry much bigger fish, running oil companies and media conglomerates.  Especially when you had the real-life Johnson family IN Chicago running Ebony, Jet and BET.

On the other hand, at least Sally Sussman had the decency to spare us all from "Marshall's Famous Fried Chicken."

Edited March 27, 20241 yr by Khan

59 minutes ago, Khan said:

To me, though, it was frustrating how the one, semi-wealthy African-American family on soaps had to run a bunch of Baskin-Robbins knockoffs while their white counterparts got to fry much bigger fish, running oil companies and media conglomerates.  Especially when you had the real-life Johnson family IN Chicago running Ebony, Jet and BET.

That I totally get. I do think there should be more quirky businesses in soaps though. Just like the challenge of depicting, say, actors, filmmakers or industry people on daytime always intrigues me even when it so often ends up a lead balloon - Dillon Quartermaine on GH was an avid film buff and later became a director but you can't very well have him hang around Port Charles in perpetuity if he's having a brilliant career, unless he is doing some sort of homegrown Richard Linklater/Robert Rodriguez sort of thing.

I mean, if you don't have an ice cream catfight, or at least a death-by-ice cream, was it ever really about the frozen dessert business?

2 minutes ago, te. said:

I mean, if you don't have an ice cream catfight, or at least a death-by-ice cream, was it ever really about the frozen dessert business?

A very valid point.

16 hours ago, Vee said:

(I always thought the ice cream business was a fun idea. 🤷‍♂️)

NBC Generations did this, actually. That show's black family, the Marshalls, owned an ice cream business.

8 minutes ago, vanguard said:

NBC Generations did this, actually. That show's black family, the Marshalls, owned an ice cream business.

That's what we've been talking about for a couple pages.

Either way - the point is, if the specific business plays no part in storylines, then they might as well just have a wide and diffuse business portfolio. Oil played a large part in Dallas's storylines, wine was integral to Falcon Crest, fashion industry used to play a big part on The Bold & The Beautiful (I haven't watched it for years so no idea about current day).

If they're going to pick a business, then it better be something they can work into the storylines. Otherwise it'll just be what DAYS currently does with "DiMera Enterprises" which just seems to exist for the purpose of changing CEOs every three months. 

2 hours ago, Khan said:

I agree!

I'm surprised MAB didn't have him running an all-sandwich food truck, lol.

It is!  Or, it would've been.  To me, though, it was frustrating how the one, semi-wealthy African-American family on soaps had to run a bunch of Baskin-Robbins knockoffs while their white counterparts got to fry much bigger fish, running oil companies and media conglomerates.  Especially when you had the real-life Johnson family IN Chicago running Ebony, Jet and BET.

On the other hand, at least Sally Sussman had the decency to spare us all from "Marshall's Famous Fried Chicken."

It's nothin to sneeze at. Bluebell Creameries, with their limited distribution... grosses 657 million dollars last year. 

Edited March 27, 20241 yr by brockreynolds

24 minutes ago, te. said:

Either way - the point is, if the specific business plays no part in storylines, then they might as well just have a wide and diffuse business portfolio. Oil played a large part in Dallas's storylines, wine was integral to Falcon Crest, fashion industry used to play a big part on The Bold & The Beautiful (I haven't watched it for years so no idea about current day).

If they're going to pick a business, then it better be something they can work into the storylines. Otherwise it'll just be what DAYS currently does with "DiMera Enterprises" which just seems to exist for the purpose of changing CEOs every three months.

How about these two options: 

Who said this family had to be rich within the first week? Friday's cliffhanger in the first week has the family discovering that they've won the largest Powerball jackpot in U.S. history. Take this suddenly rich family's storytelling ideas from there.

OR

A Bold and the Beautiful copycat idea of a fashion dynasty: African/Nigerian style fashions. The episodes can showcase fashion shows a la B&B with African/Nigerian models sporting the merchandise.

Edited March 27, 20241 yr by vanguard

2 hours ago, te. said:

Either way - the point is, if the specific business plays no part in storylines, then they might as well just have a wide and diffuse business portfolio.

2 hours ago, vanguard said:

Who said this family had to be rich within the first week? Friday's cliffhanger in the first week has the family discovering that they've won the largest Powerball jackpot in U.S. history. Take this suddenly rich family's storytelling ideas from there.

If we consider one of the advantages of the partnership between the NAACP and P&G to be the potential for The Gates's marketing to emphasize the purchasing influence of Black households, then it's crucial to focus on the business and aspirational elements of the narrative.

In the past, daytime dramas often promoted household products by portraying women who hired help for domestic chores and childcare as perpetually dissatisfied. On the other hand, those who demonstrated their love for their families by purchasing P&G dish soap for their own kitchens were depicted as morally upright. While characters like Erica, Rachel, or Ava pursued upward mobility, they typically learned that genuine fulfillment wasn't attained through greed.  So pairing a product with a character is important, because it indicates what they are trying to sell, and who is their desired consumer.

To me, this is the crux of the entire project. While it's commendable to hire a Black head writer or cast a Black lead actress.  True cultural change will occur when broadcast networks, not niche streaming services or cable, demonstrate enough respect for their consumers to create content tailored specifically to their preferences.

Edited March 27, 20241 yr by j swift

Amelia and Petronia discuss this at around the 20:00 mark and both would do it. Amelia is a great friend of Michelle.

 

7 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Amelia and Petronia discuss this at around the 20:00 mark and both would do it. Amelia is a great friend of Michelle.

 

They were both on my list of wishful castings that I posted a few pages ago. I don’t know how involved P&G would be involved in the production process of the actual series but in the old days of PGP, they built this entire universe of talent in front of, as well as behind the camera and these actors would often go back and forth between their soaps. Think of all the actors who went from EON to ATWT and AW to GL and ATWT.

Writers, directors and editors too.

I know we’re all spitballing ideas and putting in our 2 cents but I think it’s important to keep in mind the actual premise of the series based on what was pitched. The pitch presents the premise that this family is already powerful, affluent and living in a gated community. That’s undoubtedly what both the NAACP and likely even P&G signed onto and are expecting. 
The idea of making a Black family the only family on daytime television whom would acquire their wealth, not through their own ingenuity or hard work but through the luck of the lottery— that’s very far from the original pitch. The NAACP, as well as P&G would have rights to withdraw from the partnership.