April 3, 2018

“Roseanne” Gives Advertisers A Blueprint For Connecting with Everyday Americans

“…As they prepared for the ‘Roseanne” reboot, ABC wisely advertised the Conners as a “family that looks like us [and] lives like us,” and the network successfully delivered a television revival that feels like us. The show’s heart-on-the-sleeve Midwestern working-class values and warm, funny, family-centered message proved irresistible once again to American audiences, more than 20 years after the show ended its initial run in 1997.

Interestingly, this resonated not only with the broad swath of middle-America swing voters who helped propel Donald Trump to the presidency, but with coastal audiences as well. When compared with the premiere of the “Will and Grace” revival, a nakedly anti-conservative program, the ratings for “Roseanne” blew them out of the water in cities such as New York and Los Angeles. This incredible success is expected to drive up the show’s already strong advertising rates.

Producers, programmers and advertisers stand to gain from ABC’s breakthrough by following their lead, toning down the liberal virtue signaling and focusing on producing content that connects with audiences’ hearts. Just because everything seems political these days doesn’t necessarily mean everything should be political, and in an era of pervasive politicization, advertisers have a real opportunity to reconnect with audiences by respecting their values and leaving their liberal politics out of it. “
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