Happy Tuesday Lunch Breakers! In this week’s lunch break we’ll be exploring the latest news on Ellen DeGeneres and the fate of her talk show, the Emmys, Instagram’s latest feature “Reels” and the power of a catch phase to spark a movement of social justice.
Ellen DeGeneres May Be Leaving Daytime Television
Since the launch of the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2003, host Ellen DeGeneres has been one of the most influential hosts in television history. Most known for her funky dance moves on the steps of the set, promoting kindness, celebrity interviews and fun games with the audience, Ellen will soon reportedly hang up her hat and leave the show. Numerous reports of a toxic work environment including bullying, sexual misconduct and racism among staff has left the show and Ellen’s career in a downward spiral.
The hashtag #ReplaceEllen has been circulating on social media platforms advocating for new host for the Ellen DeGeneres show. This shows the power of a hashtag and how much social media can influence our personal lives – and the career of a well-known celebrity.
Instagram Reels or TikTok 2.0?
Shortly after the announcement from President Trump that TikTok will be banned in the United States unless bought Microsoft, Instagram released a new video editing feature called “Reels”.
Many are calling out the new feature for its many similarities to TikTok. This article from the Wall Street Journal points out “the similarities between TikTok and Reels run deeper than function—the apps look and feel the same, too. To move between videos in the feed, you swipe up or down the same way. The video pages look alike, with the username stacked on top of the caption and music on the bottom in the same order.”
What does this mean for the future of TikTok? We shall see…
And the Nominations Are In
Living in quarantine for six months, we are no strangers to adapting to virtual events. The 2020 Emmy nominations were released on July 28th along with the announcement that the show will now be virtual.
Virtual interviews with stars from hit television shows are now more accessible than ever. This eliminates the cost and need for travel, clothing, transportation etc. In a previous lunch break we covered the Oscars and the expenses that come with it such as a red carpet, lighting and security detail. Those costs are now eliminated but are now replaced with the cost for at home production to host a live virtual event for host Jimmy Fallon and setting up camera in the homes of the presenters and awards winners.
PR agencies now must be more flexible when it comes to accessing celebrities for media interviews since they are being conducted at home.
#SayHerName
151 days after the murder of Breonna Taylor and the pleas for justice continue. Breonna Taylor is among many other black Americans who were killed at the hands of law enforcement sparking a larger conversation about social and racial justice in America.
The catch phrase “#SayHerName” and “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” have become widely popular in demanding justice for her untimely death. Unfortunately, many are criticizing the use of the phases on social media for turning a serious matter into a punch line. This Vox article “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor”: The power and the peril of a catchphrase” said that “almost as soon as Taylor’s name went viral, the call to action became something closer to a meme-fied catchphrase, with many social media users turning calls to arrest Taylor’s killers into a kind of structural gimmick.”
Catch phases are great in creating brand recognition like Nike’s “Just Do It” or McDonald’s “I’m loving it” but it’s important to not dilute the phrase so much that it doesn’t hold any weight. Especially when it comes to a human life.
